Nadal & Alcaraz Expected To Compete In Madrid Says Tournament Director Lopez
ATP
Feliciano Lopez is not worried about Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal missing the Monte-Carlo Masters trusting that they both will do well in the next events.
A couple of players announced withdrawals from the ATP 1000 event yesterday and among them were Nadal and Alcaraz. Nadal announced it first explaining that he was not yet ready to play at the event and not long after that Alcaraz did the same thing revealing injuries as the cause for his withdrawal.
The Madrid Open director expects both of them to be ready for the event which he manages explaining that they know what to do and how to prepare.
I trust that Nadal and Alcaraz will do well in the next tournaments. Hopefully, Carlos will play with Djokovic again in Madrid and we will also have Rafa, who if he is healthy, will surely fight again for the big titles. In 2023, there is no clear favorite on clay.
Lopez is also very adamant about Spanish tennis being developed as well as it can be because Nadal and Alcaraz coming from the same country should show everybody that there is talent to be nurtured within those borders.
He would like more investment into this and other sports by the country and companies because it's a good bet to make.
Rafa and Carlos coinciding in tennis in the same country should serve as a call for the government and companies to bet on this sport.
Whether that happens remains to be seen because if Nadal's existence failed to move the needle then it's going to be really tough for Alcaraz to do the same. So far he's done a really good job of raising his profile both domestically and internationally and he could even more with some good showings in events like Barcelona and Madrid.
