Carlos Alcaraz Provides Crucial Injury Update After His First Match In Rome
NewsSunday, 11 May 2025 at 10:45
Carlos Alcaraz played his first match since previously withdrawing from the Madrid Open, and he provided an awaited injury update after his win.
Alcaraz started his Italian Open campaign with a comfortable win over Dusan Lajovic. The four-time Grand Slam champion didn't appear to struggle during the match, and that applies to both his level and his body.
Before travelling to Rome, Alcaraz withdrew from the Madrid Open, and his participation at the ATP Masters 1000 event in the Italian capital was in doubt as well.
However, Alcaraz played the match, and despite wearing a protective leg sleeve during his stay in Rome, he didn't experience any discomfort during the match, as he revealed during his post-match press conference, which was the most important thing to him.
"Well, today was a great match, a great start to the tournament. Honestly, I expected, let's say, a worse match from my side. But I'm just really, really happy."
"The most important thing was the injury. I was going to the match, [not knowing] whether I was going to feel it or not. Today was great. I made a few sprints, I moved great today without any pain, which is great. So it was a great day."
Alcaraz was then asked about how he spent the time away from the courts. He explained that he had a few days when he didn't do anything, and then he started his rehabilitation to get back in shape for the Italian Open.
"Honestly, I took some days without doing anything. Just recovering with the physio. Didn't do any physical pressure. Didn't do any movement at all. When I went home on Monday after coming back from Madrid, I did a test. I wanted to see how it was. It was almost perfect."
"Then I started to practice. It was a mix of everything, you know? It was a mix of taking it easily and, of course, practicing, too, to get ready for Rome."
What makes Carlos Alcaraz's drop shot so good?
During his post-match press conference, Alcaraz was asked one more question, and that was about his drop shot. The Spaniard is one of the best on the ATP Tour at using drop shots to his advantage, and especially his forehand drop shot is sometimes a nightmare for his opponents.
The 22-year-old was asked what makes his drop shots so effective. Alcaraz explained that playing that shot feels natural to him, but also that he always thinks about playing it at the right time.
"First of all, you have to just have the opponent a few steps back. I don't know how to explain. Is just natural for me. The most important thing is to find the great moment just to do it because it is much better to do a not great dropshot but in a great moment than a pretty good dropshot in a not-so-good moment. You have to find the balance on that."
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