Boris Becker Compares Carlos Alcaraz’s Physical Strain to Jannik Sinner’s Efficiency on Tour

Carlos Alcaraz will not compete at the Madrid Open following his wrist injury.


Boris Becker Compares Carlos Alcaraz’s Physical Strain to Jannik Sinner’s Efficiency on Tour

Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Boris Becker (via X/The Tennis Letter/BBC)

Carlos Alcaraz’s latest injury means he will not feature in five clay tournaments for the third consecutive season. Before every clay season, Alcaraz has often expressed that he hopes to compete in five clay tournaments, but in the past three years, he has managed to play in just four tournaments on clay.

Injury has been one of the major concerns for Alcaraz unlike his arch-rival Jannik Sinner, who rarely gets injured on the court. Sinner’s major physical issues for the past two seasons have been cramps or fatigue. In fact, he shocked the tennis world by completing the Sunshine Double and winning the Monte Carlo Masters.

Alcaraz noted at the Monte Carlo Masters that he would never have played the tournament if he had achieved what Sinner did in Indian Wells and the Miami Open. That shows a gap in the physical levels of Sinner and Alcaraz. The Spaniard had rested for just 47 hours before taking the court at the Barcelona Open.

But he left his opening match against Otto Virtanen with a wrist injury. Following a test, it looked worse than was believed, which forced him to pull out of the Barcelona Open. Last week, who announced that he would not feature in the biggest home tournament at the ATP 1000 tournament in Madrid.

Meanwhile, Sinner who had to play three back-to-back tournaments and had just a week’s rest will feature at the Madrid Open. During an interview about the two stars’ physical level on Eurosport, Boris Becker explained that Alcaraz’s injury problems on tour are a result of his style of play on the court:

I think it’s an injury. He would have wanted to finish in Barcelona. He’s a very proud Spanish player, so he wants to play in front of his home fans. But injuries can happen. So I think he should take a good look at what he’s done last year, how to recover and then be ready for Rome. It’s true that Alcaraz is more often injured than Sinner. But because of his style. He has a different style than Sinner. Sinner, I call him Djokovic 2.0. Similar style from the baseline, very consistent.

Last year, Alcaraz suffered more than two injuries on tour. One of them forced him to withdraw from the Madrid Open. Sinner never sustained any injury, he only had minor physical problems, which were easily dealt with. For Alcaraz to fully compete with Sinner on tour, he has to be better physically.

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner battle for World No.1 continues

The ATP rankings have been updated for this week and Jannik Sinner has extended his lead in World No.1 over seven-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz. Sinner sits at the top of the ATP rankings with 13,350 points, while Alcaraz holds 12,960 points. This is because of the injury that Alcaraz suffered at the Barcelona Open.

Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner
Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner (Image via X/Carlos Alcaraz 4K, The Independent)

He sustained an injury in his right wrist and was forced to withdraw from the third round of the Barcelona Open. He was meant to defend 330 points but ended up losing 280 points following his withdrawal, which extended the gap between him and Sinner to 360 points. Alcaraz will not be able to reclaim those lost points at the Madrid Open as he has withdrawn from the tournament.

Sinner has the opportunity to extend the gap at the Madrid Open as he has no points to defend. Should he win the tournament, he will extend the gap to 1,390 points and that will make it unlikely for Alcaraz to get back to the top of the rankings until after the grass-court season. The only chance Alcaraz has to get back to the top 10 will be in September, during the Asian swing.

Alcaraz has more points in total to defend from the Roland Garros to the US Open. He won the two Grand Slams and finished as runner-up at the Wimbledon Championship last year. However, heading into the Madrid Open, Novak Djokovic maintains his place as World No.4.

Also Read: Toni Nadal Explains Why It Will Be Difficult for Novak Djokovic to Win His 25th Grand Slam