Juan Carlos Ferrero confirms why Carlos Alcaraz cancelled training and says whether he will play his second match at the ATP Finals

Posted by Admin November 12, 2024 Tennis

Juan Carlos Ferrero has confirmed whether Carlos Alcaraz will continue playing at the ATP Finals after suffering from illness.

The 21-year-old and his opponent on Monday afternoon Casper Ruud stated that he was unwell during their round robin clash at the season-ending championships.

Carlos Alcaraz was seen blowing his nose during the changeover and had his head in a towel before suffering a 1-6, 5-7 defeat to the Norwegian.

It has since been reported that Alcaraz ended Tuesday’s practice session early ahead of his scheduled match against Andrey Rublev on Wednesday.

Does Juan Carlos Ferrero say Carlos Alcaraz will keep playing at the ATP Finals?

Alcaraz was visibly off his game against Ruud in his opening ATP Finals match.

He produced a surprising first set, in which he made under 50% of his first serves, hit just six winners, registered 15 unforced errors and converted none of five break points.

He improved in set two and served for it at 5-3, but Ruud broke back and proceeded to win four successive games to win the match as more errors flowed from Alcaraz’s racket.

Now Alcaraz’s preparation for his contest against Rublev has now been disrupted due to illness, coach Juan Carlos Ferrero explained what his player is dealing with and if he will recover for tomorrow’s match.

“As soon as he moves a little, he has trouble breathing. His chest is a little tight. A bad time to get sick,” the former World number one said. “We must not anticipate whether he will play or not tomorrow.

“We have all played in these circumstances. I think he will not get to the point where he will not go on court. It will be difficult for him to be 100% tomorrow.”

Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

What did Carlos Alcaraz say about his illness at the ATP Finals?

Alcaraz’s illness first became apparent when Ruud told the media he was sick. The world number three was then asked about his physical state, where he admitted what happened to him before arriving in Turin for the ATP Finals.

“Well, a few days before coming here, I got sick at home,” Alcaraz said after the match. “And yeah, the days that I was practicing here, I was feeling okay.

“Not pretty good, but okay. I could play. I could feel that I can get into the rallies in the practice. Obviously, in the matches is totally different.”

He added: “But today I didn’t feel well. In this morning, I feel uncomfortable in the stomach. After long rallies today, I couldn’t feel well.

“I don’t want to, you know, say because I don’t want to sound like an excuse. But if I feel bad, I feel bad. It is what happened today.”