PARIS
\nUS Open champion Carlos Alcaraz said on Friday he will miss the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the season, after injuring his right leg in training.
\n\u201cI picked up an injury through a chance, unnatural movement in training,\u201d the 19-year-old Spaniard wrote on his Twitter account. \u201cI\u2019d worked so hard to get to my best level for Australia but unfortunately I won\u2019t be able to play,\u201d the world\u2019s top-ranked player added.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s tough, but I have to be optimistic, recover and look forward. We\u2019ll see you at the Australian Open in 2024.\u201d
\nAlcaraz\u2019s withdrawal means defending champion, 22-time major winner and fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal will be promoted to top seed at the Australian Open which starts in Melbourne on January 16.
\nNovak Djokovic, the nine-time champion and a 21-time Grand Slam title winner, will move into the top four seedings. That will mean he cannot face old rival Nadal until the semi-finals at the earliest. Djokovic will return to the Australian Open after being deported from the country last year over his refusal to be vaccinated. Alcaraz became the world\u2019s youngest world number one since the creation of the ATP rankings in 1973 by winning his first Grand Slam tournament at the US Open last September.<\/p>\n
He then became the youngest player in history to finish the year at the top of the rankings, and the first outside of Djokovic, Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray to do so since Andy Roddick in 2003.<\/p>\n
However, an abdominal tear forced him to retire in the quarter-finals of the Paris Masters in November which in turn meant he had to miss the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin won by Djokovic.<\/p>\n
Alcaraz also had to sit out the Davis Cup Finals.<\/p>\n
Alcaraz, who will also miss the Kooyong Tennis Classic in Melbourne next week, admitted recently that 2023 will come with new experiences for him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have to be prepared for that, the pressure. The people, the players as well, are going to have all their eyes on me and I\u2019m going to have to be prepared for that,\u201d he explained at an Abu Dhabi exhibition event last month where he was beaten by top 10 rivals Casper Ruud and Andrey Rublev.<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably it\u2019s going to help me a little bit to try not to think about the people, the expectations, and the ranking, and that kind of stuff,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just going to see myself better, trying to push myself to a high level. Right now I\u2019m focused on myself, on recovering my level.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alcaraz has played twice at the Australian Open, reaching the second round after coming through qualifying in 2021 while last year he was beaten in five sets by Matteo Berrettini in the last 32.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re sorry we won\u2019t be seeing you this year @carlosalcaraz. Wishing you a swift recovery. See you back on court soon,\u201d tweeted the Australian Open on Friday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PARIS US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz said on Friday he will miss the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the season, after injuring his right leg in training. \u201cI picked up an injury through a chance, unnatural movement in training,\u201d the 19-year-old Spaniard wrote on his Twitter account. \u201cI\u2019d worked so hard to get […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-306079","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n