Carlos Alcaraz withdraws from Basel due to ‘problems’ with left foot and lower back
Carlos Alcaraz has announced that he will not be competing at the Swiss Indoors next week, with the Spaniard facing another setback in his quest to wrestle the year-end No.1 ranking from Novak Djokovic.
Alcaraz is without a title since winning Wimbledon back in July, and yesterday he took to social media to reveal that he would not be participating at the ATP 500 event in Basel next week due to a couple of injuries.
“Unfortunately I will not be able to play in Basel this year!” said Alcaraz. “I have a problem with the plantar fascia in my left foot and muscle fatigue in my lower back which need treatment so I can play the rest of the season. I hope to see you all soon!”
Unfortunately I will not be able to play in Basel this year! 🥲 I have a problem with the plantar fascia in my left foot and muscle fatigue in my lower back which need treatment so I can play the rest of the season. I hope to see you all soon! pic.twitter.com/44MvsjQDVn
— Carlos Alcaraz (@carlosalcaraz) October 18, 2023
The 20-year-old’s most recent defeat came at the hands of Grigor Dimitrov, with Alcaraz being knocked out in the fourth round of his debut Shanghai Masters tournament.
Alcaraz is next expected to compete at the Paris Masters, that will also see the return of his rival Djokovic, as they look to battle it out in the closing stages of the 2023 season.
Inside the baseline…
It is difficult to say without further knowledge as to how serious Alcaraz’s injuries are, because it could just be a precaution ahead of the Paris Masters and ATP Finals. However, Alcaraz did also struggle for fitness at the back-end of 2022 and was forced to withdraw from the ATP Finals then, so hopefully it will not be a case of history repeating himself.
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Carlos Alcaraz vs Novak Djokovic for the year-end No.1
Alcaraz has uncharacteristically faltered in recent weeks and not taken full advantage of Djokovic’s absence from the ATP Tour, with these injuries now putting the Serb in the driving seat for the prestigious year-end No.1 ranking.
And we, at Tennishead, have got the full details of the ranking points situation:
Novak Djokovic
Total ranking points: 11,045
Points dropping from ranking by the end of the year: 2,100
Maximum points he can gain (Based off assumed schedule): 2,500
Maximum year-end total: 11,445
Carlos Alcaraz
Total ranking points: 8,805
Points dropping from ranking by the end of the year: 360
Maximum points he can gain (Based off assumed schedule): 2,500
Maximum year-end total: 10,945
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