New world number 6, Carlos Alcaraz, will not make his debut at the 2022 Italian Open in Rome, as he withdrew from the ATP Masters 1000 tournament.
The Spanish player enjoyed great success on the ATP Tour in recent months, but he knows that to stay fresh, he must moderate how much time he spends on the tennis courts.
Already in February of this year, Alcaraz won the Rio Open before impressing with his tennis during the Sunshine Double. He first reached the Indian Wells Open semi-finals before also winning the Miami Open.
His success didn't stop there and he was able to bring it also to the clay courts. The Spaniard first won the Barcelona Open before enjoying a sensational week in Madrid.
In the Spanish capital, Alcaraz defeated Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in consecutive matches, and on Sunday, he destroyed Alexander Zverev in the final to lift the 2022 Madrid Open trophy.
However, as per L'Equipe, the Spaniard announced that he would skip the upcoming Italian Open in Rome to focus on Roland Garros, where he certainly wants to succeed, coming into the tournament on a ten-match winning streak.
In his quarter-final match against Nadal at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Madrid, the young Spaniard twisted his ankle, and for a moment, it looked like he wouldn't be able to finish the match.
However, he managed to win the whole tournament. Still, after two marathon matches against Nadal and Djokovic, he will need some rest and, therefore, has decided to skip the 2022 Italian Open.
The 2022 Italian Open will start on May 9th and run until May 15th, with one week between the tournament in Rome and the second Grand Slam tournament of the season.
The French Open then starts on May 23rd, with the final match at Roland Garros being played on June 5th. Alcaraz will be hoping to play in that match in a month.