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Carlos Alcaraz has opened up on the injury that plagued him during his 2023 Rio Open final loss to Cameron Norrie on Sunday (February 26).
The top seed appeared on course for back-to-back Rio titles when he led Norrie 7-5, 3-0, 30-0. But at that stage Alcaraz's right leg began to trouble him, and he got it bandaged. It noticeably affected his movement thereafter, especially his serve.
Norrie sensed the moment to bounce back, winning six of the next seven games to restore parity. However, Alcaraz was not about to throw in the towel. Retrieving an early break in the third, the World No. 2 used drop shots interspersed with powerful baseline strokes to pull within a few points of victory.
However, that wasn't to be as Norrie stood tall on the baseline, engineering the decisive break late on before bringing up victory with an ace down the T.
Alcaraz later elaborated on the extent of his injury, blaming the tough schedule:
"The schedule is very demanding. I have been playing at the highest level for 15 days, without stopping for any day. In the end, playing games like today, discomfort arises, and you notice things. To prevent, you ask for the physio and they bandage your leg, but I felt pain in the same muscle where I had the injury last month. It's hard. I have tried to play at my best level despite that setback."
Regarding his risky and 'aggressive' gameplan after his movement became hindered, the Spaniard said:
"When you're injured, that affects your game, because when you're not well you have to do something different and risk more than necessary. I tried to be more aggressive and finish the points faster, but against an opponent like Norrie, who is very tough, it's difficult to win. Taking so many risks, you end up making a lot of mistakes and that has influenced me a lot."
With the Rio Open final defeat, Alcaraz has dropped to 8-1 for the season, while Norrie has improved to 18-3. This is Norrie's first title of the year, after defeats in the Auckland and Buenos Aires finals.
"Physically I couldn't finish as I would have liked" - Carlos Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz rued not being at his physical best against a formidable opponent like Cameron Norrie. The former World No. 1 said:
"It has been a very tough match. I had my chances, and I was not able to take advantage of them. This is what happens when you can't take advantage of them against a great player like Norrie, who goes back to you in no time. Physically I couldn't finish as I would have liked, but this is what it takes to compete on such a demanding calendar. Now I only think about recovering."
Following his latest injury, Carlos Alcaraz's participation in the Mexican Open this week appears doubtful.
