Carlos Alcaraz has been back on the practice court after of what would be a surprise appearance at the Rome Masters and his speedy return could have a huge impact on the French Open.
Alcaraz looked set to miss the final ATP Masters 1000 clay court event ahead of the French Open after he pulled out of this week’s tournament in Madrid due to injury.
The world No 3 picked up the injury in the Barcelona Open final against Holger Rune last month, with the decision to pull out of the Madrid Masters coming after a scan a few days later.
Despite his disappointment at missing out on a Masters tournament on home soil, Alcaraz posted an upbeat assessment of his hopes of defending his French Open title in Roland Garros later this month.
“I don’t want to get ahead of myself, I don’t want to take anything for granted, but I think we’ll be confident for Roland Garros and we’re going to try to be in Rome,” said Alcaraz.
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“I also noticed an issue in my left leg when I had tests on Tuesday. I’ve been waiting, talking with my team, with the doctors, to see if I’d be able to play in good condition and without a job here in Madrid. I’ve done everything possible, everything in my power to make that happen, but things haven’t improved.
“I’m not really worried about it,” he said. “I believe it’s going to take one week, one week and a half, two weeks maximum, but I won’t have doubts about coming back and moving 100% again.”
Video footage of Alcaraz practising with his coaching team in Spain suggest he is weighing up the prospect of playing in Rome and that could be hugely significant looking ahead to the French Open.
With world No 2 Alexander Zverev the defending champion in Rome, he will be defending 1,000 ranking points in the Italian capital and he may need to defend the title to hang on to his ranking.
If Alcaraz were to win a few matches in Rome, Zverev’s hopes of heading into the French Open as world No 2 may be taken out of Zverev’s hands and that would be important ahead of the Roland Garros draw.
Alcaraz and world No 1 Sinner shared the Grand Slam titles between them last year and they will be the firm favourites to lift the title in Paris.
If Alcaraz is still ranked at No 3, there is a chance the ‘Big 2’ in men’s tennis could meet in the semi-finals in Roland Garros.
If he can move past Zverev in the rankings, he would have a path back to another French Open final that would not involve a match-up against Sinner.
There are big question marks over how the Italian will perform as he makes his return to tennis following an uncomfortable time away from the sport, but his dominance at the top of the rankings confirms he will be a contender at Roland Garros.
If Sinner and Alcaraz are not in the same half of the draw in Paris, the tennis world could get the dream final between the two great rivals who could dominate the men’s game for years to come.
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