Carlos Alcaraz, accompanied by his agent, walks through one of the ground floors of the Philippe Chatrier, with those characteristic gaits of his. cowboy. The 21-year-old man from Murcia raises his thumb as he passes, a sign of approval, but inside he still feels the concern that has been with him since the beginning of April, when he discovered that a “pronator teres” is lodged in his sore right forearm that has ended up becoming a real headache. From then to today, tests, resignations, doubts and, above all, care and more care for that muscle that prevented him from competing in Monte Carlo, then in Barcelona and before landing in Paris, a task that occupies him today, also in Rome. The Murcian cannot get rid of that fear that threatens him when he arms and charges with his right.
Three weeks ago, when he said goodbye to the Caja Mágica in Madrid after losing against the Russian Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals, the tennis player left the venue worried because his previous evolution was followed by a significant physical setback. The scan revealed that the condition had increased, so that he and his team strictly ruled out the option of playing at the Foro Italico so as not to jeopardize his presence at Roland Garros, where a year ago he reached the semi-finals. From there, more care and more prudence, with a controlled hit with the right during the sessions in Villena (Alicante) and Murcia. In the face of uncertainty, maximum moderation.
In front of journalists, Alcaraz shows a smile and transmits a message of tranquility. Always good vibes. He says he is fine, “much better.” However, at the same time he recognizes that he has not yet managed to get rid of the distrust that has accompanied him since his return from the North American tour in March. The suspicion is still there. “We have done a great job to recover as soon as possible. The training sessions here and at home have gone well, and I feel better every day. “I can hit without pain, which is a very good thing coming from where I come from,” says the young talent; “But when I hit each forehand 100 percent, I still think about the injury and it scares me.”
When he sealed his participation in Madrid, the Murcian decided to put away his racket for a week and do purely physical, aerobic and gym work; a dynamic of prevention that he has repeated in recent times, every time he has had to face a more or less significant setback. The shadow of the injuries is long and there are many who claim that his explosive playing style is taking its toll prematurely. So since the warnings from his body began to arrive —quadriceps, abdominal, thigh, plantar fascia…—, his technical and medical circle has multiplied caution, and has opted for a more conservative path that translates into his proposal on the track.
Without pain
“It’s true that I’m better, and that helps a lot to try not to think about it. I’m hitting him harder and with more intensity, but I still think about it from time to time I hit. Things are going very well and I have to trust in the work I have done. And try to get that thought out of my head,” says El Palmar, who since his appearance in Madrid has enveloped his drive in a compression mesh recommended by his physio, Juanjo Moreno. “He tells me to put it on and I put it on. At Wimbledon (2022) I wore it, until one day I took it off,” he indicated in the Caja Mágica. Now, protection has become a common accessory, synonymous with the player not having it all.
“You won’t believe me, but I don’t know exactly what I have,” he answers an Australian reporter during question time in English. “My team explains it to me and I listen to them, but then I forget. I do everything they tell me I should do. They told me that it wasn’t going to be anything serious, that it wouldn’t be long; but here we are, recovering,” he continues resignedly; “I don’t feel pain in training, but when I’m going to hit it one hundred percent I’m still a little afraid. I decided to play here because I felt better, I think we have done all the right things for recovery. I started hitting at 30% and then everything went very well. So I decided to come here a week ago.”
Heading towards this fourth landing in the Bois de Boulogne, where he has successively had a third round, a quarterfinal and the semi-final a year ago against Novak Djokovic – in which he cramped due to the tension -, the Spaniard, who triumphed in March In Indian Wells, he has only been able to play four matches on clay. A scarce baggage that conditions the assault on the French great. In any case, he claims to be a tennis player who does not need excessive rope to reach high levels of play. Appointed on Sunday with the American JJ Wolf (107th), caught at the last minute —that is, he did not manage to overcome the previous phase—he hopes to get the invisible enemy out of the way and get back on the right path again.
“Honestly, I come to this tournament without too many matches, or at least not as many as I wanted, but now I am focusing on training. I’m working well, I’m gaining pace and also gaining confidence, which is what’s really important. And I don’t think I need too many games to be at my highest level, so I’m confident I’ll be ready for the first one, at a really high level. Let’s see,” Alcaraz concludes.
DJOKOVIC SLIDES IN GENEVA
AC | Paris
While Alcaraz was talking, in parallel, Djokovic fell in Geneva (Switzerland) against the Czech Tomas Machac, 23 years old and 44th in the world. Far from clearing up doubts, the Serbian gave in (6-4, 0-6 and 6-1, after 2h 05m) and closed a discreet preparatory process, with the Monte Carlo semifinals as the most meritorious result; Aside from that, second round in Rome and this brief passage through Swiss lands, because he gave up the Madrid stopover.
Nole, who turned 37 on Wednesday, will arrive at Roland Garros for the second time in his career without having previously played in a final; The other occasion was in 2018, when he crashed with the Italian Marco Cecchinato in the quarterfinals of the major French, where in the next few dates she will have the possibility of breaking the historic tie at 24 grand with the Australian Margaret Court, a magnificent incentive.
“Of course I’m worried. This year I haven’t played well at all, except for a few games here and there. Things are as they are. I don’t see myself as a favorite in Paris. I will try to take the games one after the other. I don’t want to take credit away from Tomas, who deserved his victory, but I prefer to forget this match,” he said; “It’s not nice to suffer like this on the court. “It’s hard to focus on tennis when you have other things on your mind.”
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