© Buda Mendes / Staff Getty Images Sport
What is the real extent of the injury that Carlos Alcaraz suffered in Rio de Janeiro? His team chose to perform treatment to reduce the inflammation in the ankle area, which practically prevented the 20-year-old from playing the match against home player Thiago Monteiro.
The young Spanish’s team also disclosed other interesting information on the injury that Carlitos sustained in the debut match of the ATP 500 in Rio de Janeiro.
A functional bandage was applied to make the ligament suffer as little as possible, a bandage that Carlitos will keep in the coming weeks, until the inflammation has completely disappeared. A bandage that Alcaraz will also wear in the matches to come.
But the young Spaniard and his team surprisingly decided not to take the court until moments before his long-awaited performance in Las Vegas against Rafael Nadal.
The sensations seem to have been positive, after a couple of days of recovery work, and at the moment all the commitments initially set by the Spaniard remain confirmed. In fact, from March 6th, Alcaraz will be at the ATP Master 1000 in Indian Wells, where he will be called upon to defend the title he won last year.
The Spaniard could pay a price that is not yet obvious, compared to his direct rivals for the ranking due to the few training sessions he will carry out before the event in California.
Los planes de Alcaraz tras su lesión en el tobillo 🚨
Su equipo le está realizando un tratamiento para rebajar la inflamación en la zona 🩺💊
Le han aplicado un vendaje funcional que hace que el ligamento sufra menos 🤕
La idea es no volver a pisar pista hasta los momentos… pic.twitter.com/95DTf9Kj7X
— José Morón (@jmgmoron) February 24, 2024
The situation led to an exchange of accusations between Roddick and Ferrero
“I think his serve leaves a lot to be desired. It’s the only thing that I don’t think has improved much in the last couple of years. I remember watching him when he won the Miami Open a couple of years ago and was serving at 135, while now it seems to me that it serves 127.”
Andy Roddick expressed himself with these words, regarding Carlos Alcaraz. The former American tennis player had not been much easier towards the 2-time Spanish Slam champion, who is experiencing perhaps the most complicated period of his young career.
Carlitos, last Tuesday, during the first round in Rio De Janeiro, suffered a bad fall and injured himself. A sprain (with subsequent inflammation) which apparently did not suffer serious damage. Alcaraz promptly updated his fans by giving him an appointment at Indian Wells.
His coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, a few weeks late, commented on the former US champion’s statement, criticizing the former US Open winner.
“A player like Roddick, who is naturally comfortable on serve, can improve very easily because it is his best weapon. It’s like telling Carlos to improve his forehand. It’s simple, because it’s his most natural shot. The serve is something he had to perfect little by little, and he succeeded.
Of course it’s easy to criticize when it’s your best weapon and you see such a simple shot. The opinion is respectable, even if I don’t completely share it, because Carlos has improved his serve a lot.
If you had seen it three years ago, you would have said: Damn, how badly it serves. It’s something that is improving little by little, it’s not so easy to have a serve with a lot of speed and a lot of direction,” explained Ferrero.
And meanwhile, Carlitos has some interesting words about GOAT tennis
In recent weeks, there has been a lot of talk about Rafael Nadal’s statements on the GOAT issue at the El Objetivo program. The Spaniard, taking the statistics into consideration, explained that Djokovic is the strongest in history based on the results achieved and the level consistently expressed over the years.
“The numbers say that Novak Djokovic is the one who has won the most of all. Is he the strongest in history? Yes, for me he is. From what I’ve seen, he is,” Rafa analyzed.
Commenting on the statements of his countyrman in an exclusive interview granted to the newspaper Marca, Carlos Alcaraz spoke out on the issue.
“Everyone has their own perception of things. For some, Djokovic is the best, for others Rafa and for others Roger Federer. Rafa said that Djokovic is the best considering the numbers, and I think so too.
By the numbers, Djokovic is the best in history, there is no doubt about that. I think the GOAT question goes beyond the numbers though. For me, all three are the best in history,” explained the reigning Wimbledon champion, before focusing on the possibility of challenging Nadal at Roland Garros this year.
“Of course I would like to, in any tournament. I would like to face him one more time. It would be incredible to meet him on the field again.”
Barring sensational twists relating to their two respective physical problems, Alcaraz will get his wish in the exhibition match The Netflix Slam, which will be played in Las Vegas, but his goal is to find Nadal on the other side of the net in a official event of the ATP Tour.
