Carlos Alcaraz has endured a tough start to his clay-court season, and it could threaten to derail his entire year.
After all, wrist injuries are notoriously tricky to overcome, and in some instances, they have thwarted entire careers.
Dominic Thiem and Juan Martin Del Potro are just two prime examples of supremely talented individuals who were hampered by this ailment, and any tennis fan would be petrified at the prospect of that happening to Carlos Alcaraz.
As such, he needs to be careful.
Perhaps, as he seeks to defend his Roland Garros crown, the best preparation he could possibly make for this event is to rest before following in Serena Williams’ footsteps.
How Serena Williams won the 2015 French Open title
After all, back in 2015, the 24-time Grand Slam winner was gunning for the 20th of her collection.
She started her clay-court campaign with brief spells playing at the Fed Cup and the Madrid Open, but was forced to withdraw from the Italian Open, the last event before Roland Garros, with an elbow injury.
If Serena Williams isn’t the greatest tennis player of all time, then who is and why?
This was the first time Williams had headed to the French Open without winning a warm-up clay tournament since 2010.
And yet, through sheer willpower and determination, she ensured that such a statistic became obsolete.
Despite having had little preparation on the European clay, Williams roared to victory again and again, doing the unthinkable as she claimed her third title in Paris.
With Alcaraz having withdrawn from the Madrid Open, and doubt cast over his attendance in Rome, perhaps he might benefit from a complete rest period before relying on his own willpower to see him through at Roland Garros.
Carlos Alcaraz’s huge benefit for this year’s Roland Garros
Alcaraz has a huge benefit that Serena perhaps didn’t have during her 2015 run, and that’s the fact that the rest of the field is so far from his current level, even when injured.
Of course, at her best, the American was a cut above the rest as well, but during this entire French Open run, she was forced to suffer.
She came from a set down in three of her first four matches, and in the end was forced to go to three sets in all but two of her matches en route to the title.
Williams fought through these hardships, even battling illness, to claim her 20th Grand Slam title.
Alcaraz’s benefit is the fact that Sinner has already proven that it is possible to enter Roland Garros with little preparation and still compete for the crown.
Should Carlos Alcaraz have skipped the Barcelona Open? Did he make a mistake by playing it?
Last year, he returned after his three-month ban in Rome. This was his only clay-court event before the French Open, and yet he strolled to the final and had three championship points for the title.
Because Alcaraz is so far ahead of the chasing pack, even if he cannot play the preparatory tournaments, that first week of the Grand Slam can actually be used as an opportunity to build before peaking in the crucial second week, when he will inevitably have to face Sinner.
