Carlos Alcaraz, fresh off his US Open second-round victory, didn’t hold back at all: he flat out called the current tennis calendar “impossible” and says it’s directly contributing to a rising number of injuries across the sport. This dude just returned from a four-month layoff due to a wrist injury, so he’s speaking from real, painful experience.
The “Impossible” Calendar That’s Breaking Bodies
Alcaraz, who’s now moved into the third round of the US Open after taking down Portugal’s Jaime Faria, revealed he’s planning to drastically cut down his tournament appearances moving forward. He definitely doesn’t want another four-month injury break, right? He’s looking at making regular, pre-planned breaks a standard part of his schedule, talking about maybe one or two months off, actively missing some tournaments because, like he said, “it’s impossible to play them all.” He sees more “important tournaments” being added to the calendar, which in his words, are basically “making us play.” His strong take? If the powers that be don’t do anything to change it, we are going to see “even more” players getting injured and utterly tired. He’s already decided, “I’m going to take some breaks and missing some tournaments in the future, for sure.”
A First-Set Struggle Before Flexing That Champ Muscle
This wasn’t just a walk in Arthur Ashe Stadium for the reigning US Open champion. Against the 72nd-ranked Faria, Alcaraz looked a little rusty right out of the gate. He dropped the first set 4-6, which, come on, you don’t see that often from a seven-time Grand Slam champion. What happened? Alcaraz was straight up about it afterwards, saying he felt great, had a golden break point opportunity to go up 4-2, and then just missed it. After that, he admitted, he got “in a rush,” didn’t take time, wasn’t “patient,” and that absolutely “cost me the break.” Faria leveled at 3-3, then broke him to go 4-3 up, and rode that wave to take the set. Gotta give Faria credit for capitalizing on that opening, right?
But let’s be real, you don’t stay down for long when you’re Alcaraz. Faria’s serve totally fell apart in the second set, and our guy? He found an “extra zip” in those groundstrokes and just went through the gears. He had to save two break points early, but after that, it was all one-way traffic. Alcaraz broke Faria three times, taking control of the contest. That momentum just kept rolling into the third set, with Faria getting broken again to go 2-0 down. Faria did fight back with a break of Alcaraz’s serve to make it 2-1, but boom, he was broken in the very next game, trailing 3-1. The set went with serve after that, and Alcaraz snatched a 2-1 lead. In the fourth, he went for the kill, grabbing a double break to move to a commanding 5-1 lead before serving out the match in 2 hours and 40 minutes. That’s how a champ handles a tough draw!
So yeah, Alcaraz battled his way to a 4-6, 6-0, 6-3, 6-2 victory and into the third round of the US Open. But honestly, the real story here might be his blistering take on the “impossible” schedule. He’s got his eyes set on managing his body for the long haul, and he’s not afraid to call out the system. What does that mean for the sport when one of its biggest stars is already talking about skipping tournaments? It’s a huge question, and one that everyone in tennis needs to be asking as he pushes on through the tournament.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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