Is Carlos Alcaraz following Rafael Nadal's unenviable footsteps when it comes to injuries?
Carlos Alcaraz has withdrawn from the ongoing 2024 Barcelona Open owing to a right arm injury. He will thus miss the chance of winning his third successive title in Barcelona.
For a young player who will turn 22 next month, the Spaniard gets injured quite frequently, which is not a good sign for his career.
Carlos Alcaraz will not want to be like Rafael Nadal in this regard
Alcaraz will not want to emulate his compatriot Nadal as far as suffering from injuries is concerned. Nadal's glittering career has also been laden with injuries over the years. The 37-year-old Spaniard has hardly played any tennis during the last year or so because of a hip injury.
Prior to that, he has suffered from a multitude of injuries, predominantly to his left foot and wrists. All of that has forced Nadal to miss a whopping 16 Grand Slams over the course of his two-decade-long career. Had he not, there is a very real possibility that he could have added to his current tally of 22, perhaps even resulting in him overtaking Novak Djokovic's magic number of 24.
Alcaraz also has had his fare share of injuries so far. It has to be remembered in this context that he missed the Australian Open and Monte-Carlo Masters last year owing to injuries. He also had massive cramps in the French Open semifinal last year against Novak Djokovic, which virtually gifted the match to the latter.
Alcaraz's playing style is different from Nadal's, but they are similar in terms of movement
Both the Spaniards are known for their excellent movement on court. While Nadal is more muscle-bound now, he used to be a lot lighter and quicker in his younger days.
Neither of the Spanish men possesses a particularly strong serve, which means that they have to toil much more in general to win points. Nadal typically did more physically to win a point than say, Roger Federer, and the same is true if one compares Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
However, Alcaraz's forehand is more powerful than Nadal’s when the latter was his age. That helps him win points with relative ease. He is also a more aggressive player in general than the older Spaniard.
Still, the young man's propensity to play drop shots means that he has to rush towards the net to play his subsequent shot usually. That can be quite taxing physically, as the young man has started to find out.
What could be the remedy for Carlos Alcaraz as he begins to step into his prime tennis years?
The young Spaniard can of course pick and choose the tournaments he enters. However, at this stage of his career, the two-time Grand Slam champion should be playing extensively. Another solution for him is to get stronger physically by adding more muscle mass.
Having more muscle in the lower body will enable him to absorb the pressure better. He is not a grinder like Nadal and hence, should be able to avoid the multitude of injuries that has plagued the latter’s career.
Meanwhile, fans will have to cross their fingers and hope that Carlos Alcaraz gets fit enough in time for the twin Masters 1000 events at Madrid and Rome, followed by the all-important French Open. And thankfully, Alcaraz has shown in the past that he is capable of hitting the ground running whenever he returns from an injury.