Roland Garros may be officially underway, but this tournament, especially on the men’s side, feels tainted.
After all, with no Carlos Alcaraz due the injury, there is a little bit less magic on offer for those tuning in for the tennis.
Whilst his withdrawal marked a hammer blow for the event in general, it actually marks a wider problem that is really plaguing men’s tennis right now.
John McEnroe, speaking on the US version of TNT Sport’s ‘The Mac Zone’, has now sought to bring this issue to light.
John McEnroe’s concern for men’s tennis as more players withdraw from Roland Garros
Asked about whether the game had gotten too physical nowadays, citing the many male withdrawals at Roland Garros, McEnroe first joked as he stated: “It’s almost as physical as when I played.”
However, he then actually flipped his argument, insisting: “We played more than these players, and in particular the players before me played even more. The trailblazers. So this has been going on for 40, 50 years.”
Give us your one wild prediction for Roland Garros!
Finally, in rather unpredictable fashion, McEnroe settled by stating what a huge problem this is for the men’s game, and one that worries him deeply.
He added: “We could have a whole discussion and we will at some point or to some extent, the prize money and the breakdown of the prize money. But the bottom line is this can’t be like a total coincidence.
“Rackets are lighter than ever. The strings are tighter, you know, the synthetic cut, you can get more spin, you can get more rotation and control, but it puts more pressure on the arm. Oh, guess what? So, I don’t think we should be shocked, but we should definitely be very concerned about, like, what to do here. How do we figure this out before it gets to be even a more massive problem?
“I’m really worried. I mean, Alcaraz? I mean, he’s out of Wimbledon already?
“Musetti hasn’t been the same since he pulled out here in the semis, where he was beating Carlos pretty handily in the beginning. He had Djokovic two sets to love; he was playing incredible in Australia. Suddenly, he defaulted. This guy, everyone’s thinking he’s gonna be three, four in the world. And I think he hit five, and now, all of a sudden, the guy’s barely playing.”
How many top male players have withdrawn from Roland Garros before the tournament?
Naturally, Carlos Alcaraz’s withdrawal from Roland Garros hit the hardest.
After all, he was the two-time defending champion, and would have headed to Paris as the overwhelming favourite alongside Jannik Sinner.
However, whilst his absence devastated the tennis world, the sheer number of other top players who have been forced out has weakened the entire draw in a worrying manner.
Now, an opportunity beckons for a few inexperienced players who have seen their draws open up significantly.
Can anyone now stop Jannik Sinner from winning Roland Garros after Carlos Alcaraz’s withdrawal?
If yes, who?
That is due to players like Holger Rune, Jack Draper, Lorenzo Musetti and Arthur Cazaux all missing the second Grand Slam of the year.
Arthur Fils only recently withdrew from the event, with Seb Korda’s absence confirmed as the draw was being made.
