Carlos Alcaraz may have brought home a bit more than a disappointing loss from the 2023 Roland Garros.
In the 2023 French Open semifinal match, the Roland Garros spectators were captivated by a thrilling duel between two of the top three tennis players in the world: the young Carlos Alcaraz and the experienced Novak Djokovic.
However, what began as a showcase of elite tennis ended in a lopsided victory for Djokovic after Alcaraz suffered from cramps, and as it was recently revealed and reported by Puntodebreak, also a wrist injury.
After the match, Alcaraz's doctor, Juanjo López, confirmed in an interview that the young Spanish player had ended the match with discomfort in his left wrist. The injury reportedly occurred when Alcaraz slipped during a point and fell onto both hands.
While López referred to the injury as "post-traumatic," he assured that it was not severe, even though Alcaraz continued to experience discomfort in the area. Further tests were scheduled to determine the extent of the issue and whether a longer rest period would be necessary before returning to the courts.
Despite the setback, López confirmed that Alcaraz's participation in Wimbledon was not in jeopardy, however, the rest of the 20-year-old's schedule is not really clear as he should make his debut at the 2023 Cinch Championships at the Queen's Club, but that may not happen.
Despite fighting injury and cramps, one thing that was really impressive about the Spaniard's win was the fact that he never thought about retiring. Although he dropped to the World No. 2 spot after the tournament, he kept fighting till the last moment, something he showed also in the past.
Yet, while that's certainly heroic, it's also something that many experts don't like to see. Alcaraz may really shorten his career by playing when he's not 100% physically fit, and to avoid mistakes of his colleague from the ATP Tour, Rafael Nadal, he should choose moments when to compete and when not more wisely.