The world No. 3 couldn’t play in the event due to injury and will try to recover in time to prepare for the French Open.
The Monte Carlo Masters suffered a last-minute big blow when Carlos Alcaraz had to withdraw from the third Masters 1000 tournament of the season due to a forearm injury.
The Murcia native seemed to have recovered his best game at Indian Wells, where he lifted the trophy playing great tennis in the Californian desert. The Spaniard chased the Sunshine Double in Miami but was beaten by Grigor Dimitrov in the quarterfinals.
There was a lot of expectation to see the 20-year-old superstar debut in the European tournaments this season, now that the clay season has begun.
The Monte Carlo Masters offered him the chance of getting the ATP world No. 2 spot back, as Jannik Sinner overtook Carlitos in the rankings after reining supreme in Miami, but things played out in a very different way for Juan Carlo Ferrero’s player.
When will Alcaraz compete again?
The two-time major champion needed to get to the tournament’s semifinals to recover the No. 2 spot, as he didn’t feature in the event last year. That probably was an extra motivation for Alcaraz to go all the way in Monte Carlo, but his quest for Novak Djokovic’s top spot seems now quite far away.
However, if Sinner gets eliminated before the semifinals, Alcaraz could steal the Italian’s world No. 2, as that’s the round Jannik was able to reach in last year’s edition before being defeated by Holger Rune.
“I have been working in Monte Carlo and trying to recover until the last minute from an injured pronator teres in my right arm, but it was not possible and I cannot play”, Alcaraz said on social media.
“I was really looking forward to playing… See you next year”, he added.
Now, Alcaraz’s main priority is to try to be healthy again and return to competition as soon as possible.
If everything goes as expected, Alcaraz will be back to play the Barcelona Open. He will need to be at his best, as he won the tournament last year, as well as the Madrid Open, so besides being fit enough, he will need to cope with the pressure of having to perform at a good level in both events if he wants to keep chasing Djokovic in the rankings.
