What if we were heading straight towards a 2024 Roland-Garros not only without Rafael Nadal, but also without his young compatriot Carlos Alcaraz? The world number 3 has in any case just announced his withdrawal from the Masters 1000 tournament in Monte-Carlo, this Tuesday on social networks, due to an injury to his right forearm. “I worked until the last minute in Monte-Carlo to try to recover from compression of the median nerve in my right arm, but it was not possible and I am not able to play,” explains the 20-year-old Spanish player.
He was to enter the competition directly in the second round on Wednesday against the Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime. He will be replaced in the table by the Italian Lorenzo Sonego, drafted from qualifying, the ATP announced this Tuesday. “I really wanted to play… See you next year! » concludes the double Grand Slam winner, who has never won a single match in his career in Monte-Carlo. For his first participation in 2022, he arrived exhausted after his successful American tour (semi-final in Indian Wells and title in Miami), and he lost from the start against the American Sebastian Korda.
A hard blow a few weeks before Roland-Garros
Last year, he had already withdrawn just before the start of the tournament. This package from Carlos Alcaraz seemed inevitable given his last training sessions, during which he appeared very weak on Sunday and Monday. The recent winner of Indian Wells (before being beaten in the quarterfinals in Miami by Grigor Dimitrov) almost only did backhand ranges against his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, who was at the basket. He had not played a single rally during his last two training sessions, nor had he hit a single forehand.
This package is obviously not the best way to launch his clay court season, while the big spring event will begin in a little over a month for him at Roland-Garros (from May 20 to June 9). In what physical state will the two main Spanish chances be in by then, even if the Nadal case obviously promises to be much more problematic? There is no doubt that the spectators at Porte d’Auteuil are already crossing their fingers that they both recover.
