Concerns are growing that Carlos Alcaraz won’t be able to defend his US Open title after his latest setback, but his team remain optimistic that he will compete at the season-ending Grand Slam.
The seven-time Grand Slam winner was expected to make his long-awaited return from injury at next week’s Cincinnati Open, but organisers confirmed earlier this week that the Spaniard won’t defend his title this year as he still has not fully recovered from his wrist injury.
With the US Open starting on 30 August, many believe Alcaraz won’t risk heading to Flushing Meadows without any match practice under his belt as he has not played any competitive matches at the Barcelona Open.
However, Alcaraz and his camp have not given up hope as La Verdad reports: “Those close to the tennis player from Murcia are optimistic and see the prodigy from El Palmar competing in New York. But this doesn’t mean he will.
“Carlitos himself, along with his own determination, Samuel Lopez, his family, doctors, physiotherapists, and his large team, will make the final decision as the tournament progresses.”
The 23-year-old’s last official encounter was on the clay at the ATP 500 event in Barcelona on 14 April while his last hard-court match was a third-round defeat at the Miami Open on 22 March.
Carlos Alcaraz News
The Cincinnati Open is the last big event ahead of the US Open with the ATP Masters 1000 tournament running from 13-23 August and most big-name players usually take a break the week before a Grand Slam.
But there is one tournament on the calendar the week before the hard-court major at Flushing Meadows and that is the Winston-Salem Open with the event running from 23-29 August in North Carolina.
La Verdad added: “His team had already considered the possibility of him taking part in the ATP 250 in Winston-Salem to test himself and see how his body responds – and, above all, how the area affected by the injury holds up.
“It would also give him a chance to get back into the swing of things and compete in the odd match against other players to see how the man who, until a few months ago, was the best player on the planet is faring. That option is still on the table.”
As things stand, the reigning world No 2’s name does not appear on the entry list, but Winston-Salem Open organiser have four wildcards available and they would love to have someone like Alcaraz competing.
World No 22 Luciano Darderi is currently the highest-ranked player in the field with Alejandro Tabilo, Arthur Rinderknech, Ignacio Buse and Arthur Fery also set to feature.
