Former ATP Player Believes Carlos Alcaraz’s Roland Garros Withdrawal Will Have No Negative Impact on Jannik Sinner
Carlos Alcaraz will miss the Italian Open and Roland Garros due to a wrist injury.
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Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz (Image via X/Jannik Sinner HQ)
- Carlos Alcaraz will miss the Italian Open and Roland Garros due to a wrist injury.
- Adriano Panatta believes Jannik Sinner's performance will not be negatively affected by Alcaraz's absence.
- Sinner is currently a favorite at the Madrid Open, having only dropped one set in the tournament.
Former Italian player Adriano Panatta says Carlos Alcaraz’s French Open withdrawal may have a psychological impact on Jannik Sinner. The French Open, which will kick off on May 30, will be the second Grand Slam of the season, and it will be the first major tournament that Alcaraz will miss since the 2023 Australian Open.
Sinner has often declared that his rivalry with Alcaraz has made him a better player on tour. After losing to the Spaniard at the US Open, he admitted that he needed to change his style of play and become unpredictable on the court. The duo has evolved in their style of play and game faster than other players, which has created a huge gap between them and the rest on tour.
With Alcaraz missing the Italian Open and the French Open, there’s a growing likelihood that Sinner may not be willing to stretch himself during training as other players have been unable to challenge him. The only top player to recently beat Sinner was Novak Djokovic, who did so at the Australian Open in January.
Djokovic defeated Sinner in five sets, his first win over the Italian star after five consecutive losses in their head-to-head meetings. However, Djokovic has not played a match since the Indian Wells Open in March, and he’s racing to get back on court in time for Roland Garros.
Should Djokovic play at the tournament without a warm-up event, there’s a likelihood that he will not be able to challenge Sinner at the French Open. This creates less pressure and demand on the 24-year-old at the tournament. Speaking to an Italian channel Rai 2 via Corrie Dello Sport, Panatta revealed that Alcaraz’s withdrawal won’t have any effect on Sinner:
Alcaraz’s absence will be very serious, and at this stage, Sinner is the overwhelming favorite in every tournament he enters. But don’t worry, Jannik is so mentally strong that it won’t have any repercussions, positive or negative, for a very simple reason: he steps onto the court wanting to win, no matter who he finds on the other side of the net. If Carlos were on the court, it would be more difficult for Sinner to win. But that’s always what he wants to do, so it doesn’t change much.
Sinner is currently competing at the ongoing Madrid Open, where he’s in the quarter-finals. He has just dropped one set at the tournament, and he’s the overwhelming favorite to win the tournament. Although Casper Ruud and home favorite Rafael Jodar are seeking to match Sinner’s energy, there’s a possibility that Sinner will win the title.
Adriano Panatta appeals to tennis chiefs about the increase in injuries after Carlos Alcaraz’s Roland Garros withdrawal
Carlos Alcaraz suffered a wrist injury during his opening match at the Barcelona Open against Otto Virtanen. This is the second consecutive season that the Spaniard will leave the tournament with an injury. Last year, he missed only the Madrid Open due to a hamstring injury, but this year, his wrist injury doesn’t look promising.
In fact, there’s no date on his comeback to the tour. Of course, he will miss the Italian Open and Roland Garros, but there’s no guarantee he will be back before the Queen’s Club Championships. During the aforementioned interview, Adriano Panatta appealed to the tennis governing bodies to seek ways to reduce the number of tournaments due to an increase in the number of injured players:
I want to appeal to the institutions that regulate tennis: injuries are multiplying at a very worrying rate, and this is very bad news for this sport. The most striking case is obviously Alcaraz’s injury, which will keep him out until Queen’s Club, that is, after Roland Garros. The problem is that these players will all get hurt sooner or later, without exception. Today’s game is very violent and subjects these guys to inhuman physical strain.
Alcaraz will hope to be back before the Wimbledon Championships as there’s no information on the extent of his injury. The Spaniard reached the final at the All England Club last year and won the Queen’s Club Championships. He will drop 3,000 ranking points for not participating in the Italian Open and Roland Garros.
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