Hey there, fellow tennis enthusiasts It’s your girl Mia Johnson-Carter here, living the dream in Miami. Today, I’m talking about the latest buzz in the world of tennis, specifically focusing on Carlos Alcaraz’s health issues at the ATP Finals in Turin, Italy.
Carlos Alcaraz, the 21-year-old Spanish ace and world number 3, was one of the most anticipated players in this edition of the ATP Finals. However, his run in Turin could end sooner than expected due to health concerns. The young player is suffering symptoms of a bad flu, which affected him significantly during his match against Casper Ruud yesterday. Alcaraz was defeated in two sets by the Norwegian player, and his chances of reaching the semifinals are very low right now.
The 4-time Grand Slam champion struggled to breathe during rallies and displayed an attitude very different from his usual self. In the second set, Alcaraz tried to react but ultimately suffered a partial of five consecutive games from his opponent. He had planned a practice session today to test his condition but the outcome was not positive. After about ten minutes at a very slow pace, Alcaraz interrupted his training and returned to the locker room.
Juan Carlos Ferrero, Alcaraz’s coach, spoke briefly to the Spanish press immediately after the end of Alcaraz’s practice session. Ferrero has reiterated that Alcaraz is not feeling well but it is not his intention to withdraw from the tournament. The former world number 1 will rest in the next few hours and tomorrow morning they will assess his health condition before the match against Andrey Rublev.
As soon as he starts moving a little, it’s hard for him, especially in terms of breathing. It was a bad time to get sick. We all played in circumstances where we didn’t feel good” – Ferrero stated. He continued: “I guess Carlos will do the same tomorrow (Wednesday). Tomorrow it will be very difficult. Rublev is a very active player, you have to be very good in your legs and right now it’s what costs him a little more, the recovery between points. He is in the unknown, we will see, without playing today (Tuesday), how his body recovers and, if it’s a little better tomorrow, then he will try to give everything he has inside. It’s hard, but there is no other option. For now we have to try to physically recover. He knows it’s harder to qualify than last year because this time he didn’t win a single set.”
Carlos Alcaraz had not wanted to look for excuses after his loss to Ruud but had admitted that he was very far from his best. It is true that Alcaraz had lost his first match at the ATP Finals in the last edition as well, but he had won a set against Sascha Zverev.
Considering his current health condition, it seems unlikely that the world number 3 will be able to qualify for the semifinals. “Well, a few days before coming here, I got sick at home. And yeah, the days that I was practicing here, I was feeling okay. Not pretty good, but okay” – the Spaniard explained yesterday. “I could play. I could feel that I can get into the rallies in the practice. Obviously, in the matches is totally different. But today, I didn’t feel well. In this morning, I feel uncomfortable in the stomach. After long rallies today, I couldn’t feel well. I don’t want to, you know, say because I don’t want to sound like an excuse. But if I feel bad, I feel bad. It is what happened” – he added.
If the situation does not improve in the next few hours, Carlitos could decide not to risk and focus on the Davis Cup Finals instead. The former world No. 1 is one of the most anticipated players in Malaga and wants to help his country lift the trophy in the last event of his compatriot Rafa Nadal’s career. Alcaraz could play doubles with Nadal again, as had already happened at the Paris Olympics this summer.
It’s interesting to note that search trends are currently buzzing around the ATP Finals and who will replace Djokovic in the lineup after his withdrawal due to ongoing injuries [4]. This adds another layer of excitement and unpredictability to this year’s tournament.
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