Carlos Alcaraz has confirmed he will not play the grass court swing due to a wrist injury he suffered at the Barcelona Open.
The Spaniard has already missed the Madrid Open and the Italian Open and he will not take part in Roland Garros this year, where he is the defending champion.
Alcaraz released a statement confirming his Wimbledon miss and it’s a decision that will have many of the top players on the ATP Tour taking notice.
While Jannik Sinner has been the biggest benefactor of Alcaraz’s injury so far, having collected titles in Madrid and Rome, he will surely not be the only player to take advantage of the Spaniard’s withdrawal.
More Novak Djokovic news
French Open: Novak Djokovic told he ‘could lose to anyone’ by former world No 2
Novak Djokovic now has a major opportunity to win a 25th Grand Slam at Wimbledon thanks to Alcaraz’s decision to miss the Grand Slam.
While the same could be said for Roland Garros, it is clearly a more difficult surface to play on than grass, where Djokovic has had far more success.
Playing on clay is far more robust than grass at any age, but when you are 39 like Djokovic is, it will be nearly impossible for him to overcome the likes of Sinner on the surface.
Djokovic should now opt out of playing Roland Garros in order to turn all of his attention towards playing and winning Wimbledon this year.
The Serbian has been dealing with an injury in the run-up to Roland Garros anyway, as he was beaten by Dino Prizmic in his opening round match at the Italian Open.
Djokovic taking two weeks off while everyone else is slugging it out at Roland Garros could give him an advantage when it comes to Wimbledon time.
Furthermore, Djokovic could even play some warm-up events on the grass to prepare for the Grand Slam. Queen’s currently on has Alex de Minaur, Jack Draper, and Lorenzo Musetti signed up for it, so he would have more than enough chance to have a deep run at the event.
The Serbian has never won Queen’s so he could add another title to his incredible legacy while preparing for Wimbledon. The last time Djokovic played Queen’s was 2018, when he lost in the final to Marin Cilic.
Djokovic might not have a better chance to win that long-awaited 25th Grand Slam and he should absolutely help himself by skipping Roland Garros to focus on Wimbledon.
The Serbian has seven Wimbledon titles to his name, but there is every chance that could turn to eight if he decides to put all his eggs in the same basket come the grass court swing.
The post Novak Djokovic has clear decision he must make after Carlos Alcaraz’s Wimbledon withdrawal appeared first on Tennis365.
Leave a Reply