Carlos Alcaraz's health condition continues to worry. The young Spanish ace was one of the most anticipated players in this edition of the ATP Finals, but his run in Turin could end sooner than expected. The former world number 1 is suffering symptoms of a bad flu, which affected him a lot during his match against Casper Ruud yesterday. The 4-time Grand Slam champion was defeated in two sets by the Norwegian player and his chances of reaching the semifinals are very low right now.
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The 21-year-old from Murcia struggled to breathe during rallies and his attitude was very different from usual. The world number 3 tried to react only in the second set, before suffering a partial of five consecutive games from his opponent.Carlitos had planned a practice session today to test his condition and the outcome was not positive. After about ten minutes at a very slow pace, Alcaraz interrupted his training and returned to the locker room. The Spaniard is expected to face Andrey Rublev tomorrow, in a match that is already decisive for access to the semifinals. Fans and insiders are wondering if Alcaraz will be able to become competitive again in such a short time.
Ferrero opens up on Carlitos
Immediately after the end of Carlitos' practice session, his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero spoke briefly to the Spanish press. Ferrero has repeated 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 Rublev.
As soon as he starts moving a little, its hard for him, especially in terms of breathing. It was a bad time to get sick. We all played in circumstances where we didnt 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 its 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 its a little better tomorrow, then he will try to give everything he has inside. Its hard, but there is no other option. For now we have to try to physically recover. He knows its harder to qualify than last year because this time he didnt win a single set.
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The 21-year-old from Murcia 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 didnt feel well. In this morning, I feel uncomfortable in the stomach. After long rallies today, I couldnt feel well. I dont want to, you know, say because I dont want to sound like an excuse. But if I feel bad, I feel bad. It is what happened he added.
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A delicate situation
If the situation does not improve in the next few hours, Carlitos could decide not to risk and focus on the Davis Cup Finals. 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 is difficult for Rafa to play singles due to his current physical condition, but captain David Ferrer has not ruled out this possibility. Spain's chances in Malaga are very conditional on Carlos level, despite the Spaniard does not like to play indoor very much. The 21-year-old from Murcia struggles to play his best tennis in these conditions and admitted that he still has a lot of work to do to get to the level of his great rival Jannik Sinner.
