Carlos Alcaraz is back on tour and how! The Spanish teenager was sidelined for four months after an abrupt end to his 2022 season at the Paris Masters, where he was forced to forfeit mid-match against eventual champion Holger Rune, due to a injury.
After withdrawing from the 2023 Australian Open, Alcaraz took part in their first event of the season – the Argentina Open. At the tournament, the former world No. 1 stunned tennis fans everywhere as he effortlessly picked up where he left off before the injury to win the seventh title of his young career.
The Spaniard, who is currently defending his title at the Rio Open, has remained undefeated so far this season, winning seven matches in a row.
Alcaraz’s heroism since returning from injury was noticed by tennis commentator Geoffrey Chizever, delighted with the youngster’s return to form.
“He is so crazy. It’s incredible! You’ve been gone for four months, and he does the same thing: move. It’s the same shot. This is crazy!” Chizever said on the Inside-In podcast.
Chizever said watching the 2022 US Open champion again made him realize how much his smile, his athleticism and his shots had been missed on the ATP Tour.
“I had forgotten how much we missed Alcaraz’s smile, athleticism and shooting. When we saw him in Buenos Aires against Cam Norrie,” he said.
The commentator further praised Alcaraz saying that making a comeback after months on the sidelines is rare in tennis.
“It’s one of those sports where when you lose the rhythm and you’ve been gone for a long time (it’s hard to come back),” he said.
Chizever also compared the Spaniard’s return to that of former world No. 2 Alexander Zverev. He admitted, however, that the German player’s injury was very different from that suffered by Alcaraz.
“Alexander Zverev three (wins) and five (losses) since recovering from his ankle injury. We are talking about different injuries but (again),” he said.
Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals of the Rio Open 2023
Carlos Alcaraz qualified for the semi-finals of the Rio Open with a straight-set victory over Dusan Lajovic – his seventh straight victory in 2023. The defending champion now awaits Chilean Nicolas Jarry for a place in the final.
With his title win at the Argentina Open and his ongoing run at the Rio Open, Alcaraz finds himself 590 points behind world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the live ATP rankings. If he successfully defends his title in Rio, the teenager will be level with Djokovic in terms of ranking points, although he will continue to remain the world No.2.
The duo’s run at their next tournament – ATP 500 in Dubai for Novak Djokovic and ATP 500 in Acapulco for Carlos Alcaraz – could therefore be of immense importance in determining who claims the top spot.
Edited by Shubham Banerjee
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