"It's difficult for Carlos Alcaraz" - Coach Juan Carlos Ferrero clarifies Spaniard's injury ahead of Jannik Sinner French Open SF clash

Carlos Alcaraz is gearing up for a blockbuster clash against arch rival Jannik Sinner at the 2024 French Open. Ahead of the match, the Spaniard’s coach Juan Carlos Ferrero shed light on whether he has fully recovered from his forearm injury.

Alcaraz missed out on a large chunk of the claycourt season due to a pronator teres injury. After withdrawing from Monte-Carlo Masters, he was forced to forgo his Barcelona Open title defense, too. The Spaniard resumed his campaign at the Madrid Open, but his title defense was halted by eventual champion Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals.

Citing an injury flare-up, Carlos Alcaraz also withdrew from the Italian Open, thus entering the French Open with just four claycourt matches under his belt.

The Spaniard’s coach, Ferrero, recently spoke about whether they made any tactical changes in light of the injury.

"No, honestly not," he said, according to Punto de Break.

He, however, added:

"I think that in the end an injury like that is never good. One because it has made it a little difficult for us to be able to play the entire clay season, which is always important for us."

Ahead of his French Open match against Jannik Sinner, Juan Carlos Ferrero also opined that Carlos Alcaraz has yet to find his best level. According to him, the forearm injury is still bothering the two-time Grand Slam champion, which makes it difficult for him to hit his forehands freely.

"And then, when it comes to hitting the right again with 100% confidence, today I would say it is at 95%. It is still difficult for him to finish hitting the right hand with that naturalness that he hit before because that injury to his arm always makes him pay attention to it a little bit," he noted.

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Carlos Alcaraz has been exemplary at French Open 2024 despite injury

Carlos Alcaraz pictured at the 2024 French Open (Image Source: Getty)

Despite the injury and a noticeable compression bandage on his right forearm, Carlos Alcaraz has been nothing short of phenomenal during his run in Paris this fortnight.

He is through to the semifinals for the second year running, beating J. J. Wolf, Jesper De Jong, Sebastian Korda, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Stefanos Tsitsipas. Notably, the 21-year-old has lost just one set en route.

He is gearing up for one of his toughest tests on Friday, June 7 – a semifinal clash against his arch rival Jannik Sinner. Just like Alcaraz, Sinner has been in spectacular form despite having to overcome a hip injury during the claycourt season. He, too, has lost just one set en route to the final four.

The Italian, who beat Christopher Eubanks, Richard Gasquet, Pavel Kotov, Corentin Moutet, and Grigor Dimitrov in the previous rounds, is on a 12-match winning streak at Grand Slams, which started when he won his first Major at the 2024 Australian Open.

Alcaraz and Sinner are tied 4-4 in their head-to-head and are looking to gain an advantage over the other as they bid for their maiden final at the French Open.