Alcaraz beat Botic van de Zandschulp, 7-6, 3-6, 6-1, in the first round, exacting revenge over the man who knocked him out of last year’s US Open.

He then made light work of his second-round opponent, as Alcaraz beat Andrea Vavassori to advance to the quarter-finals.

The 21-year-old then took down fellow Spaniard Pedro Martinez to book his spot in the last four of the Rotterdam Open.

As the world number three prepares for his semi-final clash with Polish star Hubert Hurkacz, one former tennis star has given his thoughts on why Alcaraz chose to play in Rotterdam in 2025.

Steve Johnson thinks 2024 injury ‘scar tissue’ may have led Carlos Alcaraz to play at the Rotterdam Open

Appearing on the Nothing Major podcast, former world number 21 Steve Johnson explained his theory on why Alcaraz chose to play Rotterdam over the South American ‘Golden Swing’ in 2025.

“He doesn’t pick a tournament because he’s going to be better on one surface like most of us would pick in that scenario, he can win any tournament, any surface, any country, you name it,” he said.

“Maybe he has a little mental scar tissue, he did roll his ankle down in the golden swing last year so maybe that’s on his mind that he doesn’t want to get hurt again.

“That’d be a silly reason not to go, but for him, it just doesn’t matter.”

Alcaraz retired two points into his opening-round match at the Rio Open last year, suffering an ankle injury that saw him out of action until Indian Wells in March.

Johnson then explained when the Spaniard would’ve chosen his schedule, suggesting that his decision to play Rotterdam was made long ago.

“He’s picked his schedule a year ago, when these tournaments are doing their appearance fees, so it’s not like he chose to go to Rotterdam six weeks ago when the deadline went out,” he said.

“This was a process long before, that he decided to do this swing rather than the golden swing in South America.”

Johnson’s co-host, Sam Querrey, then gave his thoughts on Alcaraz’s scheduling decisions, as he praised the 21-year-old for keeping things ‘simple’.

“He’s going to get a massive appearance fee wherever he wants all over the world, so he basically has the same decision that the guy ranked 70th in the world has, who is not getting an appearance fee, go play wherever you want,” he said.

“So, if you’re him, you’ve got Indian Wells and Miami coming up, why not stay and play two massive hard court tournaments that are closer to home.

“At the end of last year he did those two exhibition events in the US, travels a lot, probably does a lot of traveling that we don’t even know about for sponsors.

“So why not make your life as simple as possible, go play massive ATP 500’s that are an hour’s flight from you, and keep things as easy as possible.”

Former world number eight John Isner agreed as he said he ‘liked’ Alcaraz’s scheduling change.

“I like him staying in Europe, try pick up a 500 title, get some momentum that way before coming over to the United States and playing Indian Wells,” he said.

“He can play on all surfaces, we know that, but I don’t think he’s better on clay than he is indoor hard, I think you’re splitting hairs if you’re saying one surface is better than the other.”

Which post-Australian Open tournaments has Carlos Alcaraz played in his career so far?

Alcaraz has now played four full years on the ATP Tour and has consistently played the same group of tournaments during the early stages of the season.

Following the Australian Open, players mainly choose between three options; Europe/Asia, North America, and South America, before competing in the Indian Wells and Miami Open Masters 1000 tournaments, with Alcaraz opting for the latter option in recent years.

Carlos Alcaraz’s post 2021 Australian Open schedule

• Montpellier – Lost in qualifiers
• Gran Canaria 2 (Challenger) – Lost in second round
• Mexican Open – Lost in first round

Carlos Alcaraz’s post 2022 Australian Open schedule

Carlos Alcaraz’s post 2023 Australian Open schedule

• Argentina Open – Won
• Rio Open – Lost in final

Carlos Alcaraz’s post 2024 Australian Open schedule

• Argentina Open – Lost in semi final
• Rio Open – Retired in first round

Making a change in 2025, Alcaraz is set to play in the Qatar Open, which begins on February 17.

He’ll first focus on Rotterdam, however, as he takes on Hurkacz for a place in the final later on Saturday.

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