Carlos Alcaraz is failing to gain support as he prepares to defend the Roland Garros title this season. The Spaniard lost his No. 1 ranking to Jannik Sinner after losing to the Italian in the Monte-Carlo Masters final.
Many are already starting to believe that Sinner has been able to find his way through Alcaraz and appears to be the favorite to win Roland Garros this year. This includes Rafael Nadal’s uncle Toni Nadal.
Nadal, who has trained players on clay for the better part of the last two decades, dissected the Monte-Carlo finals and suggested Alcaraz is not in the best position to defend his title against Sinner.
“It was a bad result for Alcaraz because Monte Carlo is the closest thing to Roland Garros,” Nadal said. “I think Alcaraz played at a pace that favored Sinner…the gap between them is very small. I think Sinner is controlling his emotions better. This result may raise some doubts for Alcaraz. Those conversations Alcaraz has with his bench are more due to nerves and frustration. Sinner was more consistent than Alcaraz.”
The only Grand Slam missing from Sinner’s cabinet is Roland Garros. Last year, when he matched up against Alcaraz, he went from holding a match point to losing the match. This year, he is taking all the right steps to once get back to the finals and finally complete his career Grand Slam feat.
After Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz Also Withdrew from Barcelona Open
Carlos Alcaraz had a chance to get back his No. 1 ranking by winning the Barcelona Open. However, a few days after Jannik Sinner announced his withdrawal, the Spaniard has also pulled out of the tournament during his first round match.
Alcaraz was playing against Otto Virtanen in the opening round when in the first set he felt discomfort in his wrist. He was leading the set 5-4 when he decided to retire and pull out of the tournament.
“It’s a more serious injury than we expected when we saw the results of this morning’s tests,” Alcaraz told reporters. “I’m stepping back to avoid taking any risks. With great sadness, I’m leaving to start recovery as soon as possible so I can be ready for the upcoming tournaments as soon as possible.”
Next up, Sinner and Alcaraz are both scheduled to participate in the Madrid Open. Assuming the wrist injury isn’t worse, Alcaraz will look forward to leveling up against Sinner on clay this season.
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