Due to persistent soreness in his right forearm, which also kept him out of action in Monte Carlo and Barcelona, world number three Carlos Alcaraz has withdrawn from the ATP Italian Open scheduled for next week, according to Agence France-Presse on Friday.
Weeks before the French Open, the second Grand Slam of the season, arrives, the blow has been dealt.
The Spaniard posted on X, “I felt some pain after playing in Madrid (he lost on Wednesday), some discomfort in my arm.”
Regretfully, I will be unable to perform in Rome. I must take it easy so that I can heal and play without any pain at all.
Sentà dolor después de jugar en Madrid, molestias en mi brazo. Hoy me hecho unas pruebas y tengo un edema muscular en pronador redondo, consecuencia de mi última lesión. Desgraciadamente no voy a poder jugar en Roma. Necesito descanso para recuperarme y poder jugar sin dolor al… pic.twitter.com/hCm87LLIhH
— Carlos Alcaraz (@carlosalcaraz) May 3, 2024
Alcaraz lost 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 to Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals midweek, ending his championship defence and 14-match winning streak in Madrid. He felt the affects against Rublev after playing for about three hours on Tuesday in a three-set victory over Jan-Lennard Struff, the runner-up from the previous year.
After the match on Wednesday, Alcaraz remarked, “Every time that I’m hitting the forehand, I’m thinking about the forearm, if I’m getting a feeling or not.” “It’s going to take some time, but I have to put in a lot of work if I want to travel to Rome feeling comfortable, pain-free, and without worrying about my forearm. In that sense, I must exercise patience.”
After playing with “difficult feelings” towards the finish of the match against Rublev, Alcaraz decided to slice more on his forehand in order to lessen the strain on his forearm. The only Grand Slam on clay, the French Open, begins play on May 26.
Last year, Alcaraz made it to the semifinals. On Sunday, the two-time Grand Slam champion—who won Wimbledon last year and the US Open in 2022—turns 21.
