At dawn from Tuesday to Wednesday, while Spain was sleeping, Carlos Alcaraz’s right ankle suddenly drew a ninety-degree angle that set off all the alarms. When going to chase an open ball from Thiago Monteiro, his first rival in the Rio de Janeiro tournament, the Murcian carried out one of the most damaging maneuvers in tennis: he corrected himself in the race when he was heading towards the center of the court and, in Instead of sliding and correcting the support well, the shoe stuck in the sand. Consequently, tennis player to the ground, damaged joint, hands to the head and medical attention. “Both my physio and the ATP physio have told me that it doesn’t seem serious, but let’s see. The ankle is still hot, so it has to cool down and tomorrow [por este miércoles] We’ll see what appears in the images…”, explained the Murcian, who was barely able to compete a couple of points and in the end chose to abandon, taking into account that the calendar points to a highly relevant triple event soon.
From the outset, Alcaraz’s plan is to participate on March 3 in an exhibition in Las Vegas against Rafael Nadal, which already had to be canceled last year due to an injury to the Mallorcan; Three days later, the young man from El Palmar will parade through the Californian desert to play in Indian Wells, where he triumphed a year ago; and then, without respite or rest, the Spaniard would link – always depending on the circumstances and what his body demands at that moment – with the Miami event, also on asphalt. And here is the question that floats in the air, regardless of the results achieved in the two previous seasons, satisfactory in terms of points and shooting: To what extent is the passage through Latin America ideal and to what extent is the risk of alternating in such a short interval of time the cement of Australia, the clay of Buenos Aires and Rio, and the hard surface of the United States again?
In a recent interview granted to the specialized media Claythe coach of the world number two, Juan Carlos Ferrero, already hinted that the roadmap could vary in the coming years and that they could opt for a more logical approach. “It is something that we will see later, but it is true that at some point I would like him to do the tour [actual y europea] fast track [la elección del italiano Jannik Sinner, número tres]; This way you don’t change the surface after Australia and then change again, and then go back to clay. At some point we will change,” pointed out the Valencian coach, aware that, beyond bad fortune, the body and joints suffer from changes in scenery, and that the tennis player requires an essential adaptation to recover some automatisms that They are not easy to incorporate.
Alcaraz won the Brazilian tournament title two years ago and the Buenos Aires tournament in 2023. However, last season he already left Rio with an injured hamstring and the shock in his body after losing in the final against Cameron Norrie. In any case, he was later able to compete and lift the Indian Wells trophy; circumstance that now, as he himself transmitted this Wednesday through his social networks, could be repeated. The intuition of the physiotherapists and the player himself after suffering the mishap — “I’m a little lame, but let’s take it easy” — was in the right direction. The MRI performed the next day revealed that Alcaraz suffers from a grade II lateral sprain. Therefore, he will have to rest for a few days and receive treatment, but the diagnosis deactivated the alarm. “See you in Las Vegas and Indian Wells!” he added.
In this way, on Netflix—promoter of show next week with Nadal in Las Vegas – breathe easier and within the Murcian team this Wednesday a pleasant feeling of relief spread: the specialists’ prognosis was accurate. There is evil, but it is moderate. Alcaraz will be able to continue with the pre-established path, but in the near future – without contractual submissions involved – everything points to a change in planning: the days in South America may remain as a beautiful memory of these beginnings.