CARLOS ALCARAZ DEALT HUGE BLOW AS LATEST INJURY FORCES SIGNIFICANT WITHDRAWAL

Carlos Alcaraz has announced his withdrawal from the Italian Open in yet another blow for the Spaniard during his disrupted clay court season.

The world No 3 and reigning Wimbledon champion confirmed on social media that he had not been fully fit during his Madrid Open campaign and was suffering from muscle edema.

The Spaniard had previously withdrawn from the Monte Carlo Masters and the Barcelona Open, missing the chance to defend his title at the latter event.

He was also unable to win a third straight title in Madrid, falling in three sets to Andrey Rublev in their quarter-final on Wednesday.

Alcaraz had been pushed to the brink in his fourth round match against Jan-Lennard Struff and looked far from convincing in the Spanish capital.

And on Friday he confirmed that he would be missing the third Masters 1000 event of the clay court season, which starts next Tuesday.

He said: “I felt pain after playing in Madrid, discomfort in my arm. Today I had some tests and I have muscle edema in the pronator teres, a consequence of my last injury. 

“Unfortunately I won’t be able to play in Rome. I need rest to recover and be able to play 100% pain-free.”

Alcaraz’s withdrawals from Monte Carlo and Rome were also due to an issue with his arm, and it was notable that he wore a protective sleeve throughout his Madrid campaign.

He admitted after his loss to Rublev that he had been struggling throughout the match – though was still optimistic about his Rome chances at that point.

He commented: “You know, playing someone like Rublev that I couldn’t push to the limit in every point is tough. But yeah, the end of the match, I sliced the forehand a bit more.

“Well, it was difficult feelings, let’s say, at the end of the match.  The point is that I’m gonna go to Rome. I’m going to work these days to be close to 100% or in a good way to play in Rome, but I’m gonna decide in the next coming days, but I think I’ll be okay to play Rome.”

This latest withdrawal will fuel concerns about his long-term fitness, with his stellar success on court often coupled with repeated injury blows.

Heading into the French Open, which starts later this month, Alcaraz will have played just four matches on the dirt this season.

The Spaniard is currently set to be the third seed at the tournament as he targets a third major title, but doubts will now loom over him in the build-up to Roland Garros.

Read More: Carlos Alcaraz’s injury record unwrapped: growing pains or long-term problem?

2024-05-03T11:10:10Z dg43tfdfdgfd