Jaume Munar, one of the five players who will try to win the Spaniards’ seventh Saladera in recent days, still expresses amazement: “Wow, incredible! It’s incredible. What a pace! It seems like they’re playing ping-pong!”. The duels between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are not only the object of admiration from the fans, but also from the professionals themselves, shocked by the speed with which those electric and ferocious exchanges between the two champions take place. And also by the continuity; that is, they bite each other and don’t let go. From the beginning to the end. From one coast to the other. The downloads go viral and the rivalry continues to grow.
“The consistency he has, point after point, generates a little more anxiety in you; you have to be at that level, or even more. And the fact that he is always there, there and there is what makes Jannik unstoppable,” he described the night before the Murcian, referring to that overwhelming feeling that those in front feel when Sinner picks up the pace and accelerates, unleashing perfect shots to all corners of the court. Between the two of them, good friends, sparks and more sparks and tennis always at the limit. Logically, bodies do not always resist. Alcaraz suffered on Sunday, in the masters final, and now Spain waits: how will the world number one arrive at the opening of the Davis Cup on Thursday?
“Will it hurt me for Bologna? I think not. Or at least I hope so…”, he continued after giving in in the last duel with Sinner and his hamstrings, a usual source of problems, warned him of having to control the pace. Danger. There are 80 loads of load on the legs and, at this point, forced maneuvers can be costly. Although he is now a little taller than in that early phase of the elite circuit when he chased every ball like a runaway horse, he usually doesn’t skimp. Its elongated shapes are privileged, as well as delicate. A lot of behind-the-scenes and prevention work, and now, a question mark two days before the debut against the Czech Republic at the Bologna Fair.
How is Alcaraz? “Good,” he replies upon arriving at the hotel to meet the rest of the expedition. That is, with captain David Ferrer and his teammates, Jaume Munar, Pedro Martínez, Pablo Carreño and doubler Marcel Granollers. Everyone was waiting for news and the results of the MRI that the tennis player underwent this Monday afternoon, after having traveled the 300 kilometers that separate Turin from Bologna in the morning in a van. Everyone looks at that right ischium, massaged and bandaged during the match, although without major problems during development. Yet, stiffness and discomfort. However, he managed to finish it with only the medical treatment he received in the interval between one set and the next
Background
“Maybe sometimes I manage to act crazy, in the sense of going for impossible balls and slipping; obviously this limited me, but beyond this I was able to play normally”, he reassures. However, this Monday the expected script within the team was changed. The players were initially supposed to hold the traditional press conference in the early afternoon, but it was eventually postponed to the following day. Alcaraz, tennis status question. With or without him everything changes. The player from El Palmar (22 years old) went to a medical center accompanied by the doctor of the Spanish federation, Ángel Ruiz Cotorro, and his analyzes were joined by those of the tennis player’s personal doctor, Juanjo López, after the tests were sent.
The suspense ended around ten in the evening, when federal sources reported to the media present in Bologna, including EL PAÍS, that the circuit leader “did not suffer any breaks” and that the inconvenience was due to a “muscle overload” due to the accumulation of efforts. Consequently, Alcaraz will not train this Tuesday together with his teammates and will rest, waiting for the evolution to be positive and for him to be tested on Wednesday, before the first match (10.00, Movistar+). That is to say, in principle, good news, as the situation requires jealously monitoring an area that gave him war in this first phase of his career.
It’s not strange to see Alcaraz with one or the other thigh wrapped in compression bandages during training, if not in matches. And in January 2023, an aggressive maneuver during a practice led to a tear in the semimembranosus muscle (integrated into the hamstrings) in his right leg, so he had to sit out the Australian Open. He reappeared in mid-February, in Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro, but a Grade 1 strain in his right ischium prevented him from subsequently competing in Acapulco. This season, the same muscle region suffered during Godó’s final and forced him to disappear from the Madrid Masters 1000 draw, despite his attempt to play.
The examination carried out this Monday afternoon – with images from various perspectives – did not highlight the presence of any contusion, so Ferrer and the rest of the group are confident that the Murcian can participate in the quarter-finals against the Czech Republic. “We are focused on our interests”, indicated his coach, Tomas Berdych; There was certainly less calm than the day before, when Alcaraz had called the physiotherapist and his competition was in the air.
