Carlos Alcaraz says he is ‘confident’ he will be able to play in the Madrid Masters after taking a medical timeout for treatment during his loss in the final of the Barcelona Open.
The world No.2 took a time-out early in the second set of his clash with Holger Rune, who won the match 7-6(6), 6-2, to claim his fifth ATP title. Two games later, Alcaraz received further treatment on the court with a member of the medical team working on the upper part of his right leg.
Following the match, Alcaraz told reporters that he felt something in the adductor muscles of his leg. These are a group of muscles on the inner thigh that pull the leg toward the midline of the body. The Spaniard admitted the issue affected his concentration when playing Rune. Alcaraz produced a total of 33 unforced errors against just 16 winners.
“The second set started off very tough with long, intense rallies. After a couple of runs, I noticed something in my right adductor muscle. The alarm bells went off, making it hard to stay focused on playing,” he said.
The setback comes ahead of the biggest tournament to take place in Alcaraz’s homeland, the Madrid Masters. He has won the event twice before in 2022 and 2023. Last year he lost in the quarter-finals to Andrey Rublev.
“You worry about how your physique will be, your health…” He admits.
“I’m going to have two days off. I’m confident it won’t hurt me heading into Madrid.”
So far this season, Alcaraz has won 24 out of 29 matches played. He has won two titles in Rotterdam and most recently at the Monte Carlo Masters earlier this month. As a result of his latest loss, he will be overtaken in the PIF ATP rankings by Alexander Zverev on Monday.
