Carlos Alcaraz has assured fans of his participation at the 2024 US Open by saying he ended a practice session early as a precaution.
Fans are excited ahead of the US Open's opening day on Monday. Alcaraz will not play on the first day but is set to feature during the night session on Arthur Ashe Stadium on Tuesday against the qualifier Li Tu.
The Spaniard won his maiden Grand Slam title at Flushing Meadows two years ago, beating Casper Ruud in the final. He cemented his place as a worldwide star by winning the year's final Grand Slam as a 19-year-old.
Alcaraz's fame has only grown since that success. His success and style on the court mean numerous brands and companies want to partner with him, which explains why he was the highest-paid player in the last 12 months.
Despite the financial rewards, the four-time Grand Slam champion still experiences difficult moments. He cried during an interview with Alex Corretja after losing the Olympic gold medal match to Novak Djokovic.
That moment may still have impacted Alcaraz when he smashed a racket during his Cincinnati Open defeat to Gael Monfils. Serena Williams' ex-coach, Rennae Stubbs, thinks he was still broken after his Olympics defeat.
Alcaraz is unlikely to allow his emotions to get the better of him at the US Open, but some fans were getting emotional when footage emerged of Alcaraz having an injury scare during a practice session.
Thankfully, the 21-year-old gave a positive update at a press conference in New York. He said the move to cut short his practice with Francisco Cerundolo was done as a precaution.
"Well, I think it is okay. You know, I just stop my practice just for precaution. I didn't feel comfortable enough to keep practicing just in case if everything is going to be worse."
"But, you know, after a few hours later, I still feeling good, you know, my feet, so tomorrow I will try to be practicing again 100% without thinking about it, but today I'll take care about it."
It looked like Alcaraz rolled his ankle during practice, which would have been a similar injury to the one he picked up at the Rio Open earlier this year. But the world No. 3 has confirmed it is not that serious which is excellent news.
Alcaraz admitted he was angry to stop his practice session. He wanted to continue it for his own preparation and out of respect for Cerundolo. The Wimbledon champion was also confident he would be at his best when the tournament started.
"Well, I mean, I wasn't worried at all for my US Open participation. Obviously I was angry because I don't want to stop the practice, just to respect Cerundolo, as well. I don't want to stop any practice. I want to practice, I want to get better, I want to get ready for the tournament."
"But honestly with the ankle, I wasn't worried about that. So I'm sure that, you know, tomorrow or in two days I'm going to be my at 100%, for sure. It's about time."
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