Carlos Alcaraz makes ‘superstition’ admission about nasal strip after reaching Rotterdam Open final
World No.3 Carlos Alcaraz has reached the final of the Rotterdam Open and is scheduled to lock horns with Alex de Minaur.
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Carlos Alcaraz (Image via ATP/X)
Carlos Alcaraz has reached his first final of the season. After fending off eighth seed Hubert Hurkacz 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-3 in two hours and 21 minutes in the Rotterdam Open semifinal, Alcaraz gave an update about his health. He has been sporting the nasal strip, which is helping his breathing as the Spaniard is battling cold.
Because of the change of weather, Alcaraz caught a cold when he was returning to Murcia after losing the Australian Open quarterfinal to Novak Djokovic. He took a few days off and stayed at home and could practice for only two days.
But his condition has now improved, and in spite of that, he will still be wearing the nasal strip because of superstitious reasons. As he started his Rotterdam Open campaign with the nasal strip and reached the final, he doesn’t want to play any matches without it.
Well, I feel much better since the start of the week. I’m not going to say I feel great, that I’m 100%. The cold is still there a little bit, but it’s kind of superstitious as well. It helps to breathe normally, it helps a lot. But once I started the tournament with that, I couldn’t take it off.
Carlos Alcaraz said at the press conference
Alcaraz is playing in the Rotterdam Open for the first time in his career. The top seed is also aiming for his maiden indoor hard-court title.
Steve Johnson reveals reason behind Carlos Alcaraz’s participation at the Rotterdam Open
Carlos Alcaraz made a change in his schedule for the 2025 season as he skipped the Golden Swing. Former ATP pro Steve Johnson explained why he thinks Alcaraz signed up for the Rotterdam Open instead of landing in South America.
Maybe he has a little mental scar tissue, he did roll his ankle down in the Golden Swing last year so maybe that’s on his mind that he doesn’t want to get hurt again.
Steve Johnson said on the Nothing Major podcast
Last year, the 21-year-old, after losing the Australian Open quarterfinal to Alexander Zverev, fell to Nicolas Jarry in the Argentina Open semifinal before giving a walkover to Thiago Monteiro in his opening round at the Rio Open as he hurt his right ankle.
He was then nursing his injuries on the sidelines and made his comeback at the Indian Wells. John Isner also agreed with Johnson and said he liked Alcaraz choosing to play an ATP 500 tournament in Europe to get some momentum before flying to the United States for the Indian Wells and the Miami Open.
In the ongoing ATP event in Rotterdam, Alcaraz is scheduled to clash with third seed, Alex de Minaur, in the final. The four-time Grand Slam champion has won the previous two matches he played against the Aussie on the ATP Tour.
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Gouri Das
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