World No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz sent out a congratulatory message to Jannik Sinner for winning his second consecutive Wimbledon title on Sunday.
“Congratulations Jannik and team! 🏆🌱Enjoy the moment!” Alcaraz wrote on IG.
Reading between the lines, some fans found Alcaraz’s “enjoy the moment” remark interesting, interpreting it as a subtle reminder for Sinner to savor his success when the Spaniard remains out with a wrist injury.
As is widely documented, Alcaraz is 7-3 against Sinner in their last 10 matchups, including the finals at last year’s US Open, Cincinnati Open and Roland Garros. Although Sinner got the better of Alcaraz at last year’s Wimbledon, the latter has consistently been the superior player in pressure-cooker moments.
Alcaraz and Sinner squared off in three of the four major finals last year, and were primed to continue their rivalry this year before the Spaniard’s unfortunate injury. They were on a collision course in the Australian Open final at the start of the year, but Sinner didn’t keep his end of the bargain as he lost to Novak Djokovic in the semifinal. In their final meeting at Monte-Carlo, Sinner got the better of him in straight sets.
Jannik Sinner Eager for Carlos Alcaraz Return
Sinner knows that his path to winning grand slams is a whole lot easier with Alcaraz sidelined. However, he realizes what the seven-time major winner means to the sport.
After capturing his first major of the year at Wimbledon, Sinner said he hopes to see Alcaraz back in action at the upcoming US Open.
“We hope Carlos is coming back as well… because tennis needs him,” Sinner said.
“Having Novak [Djokovic] still around and having all the young players coming it’s really nice. But at the same time you always need to work harder and harder to have moments like this.”
Carlos Alcaraz Return in Doubt
The 23-year-old Spaniard was previously expected to return in Montreal as part of the hard-court swing leading up to the US Open. However, he recently withdrew from the Canadian Open, and there are serious doubts about him being medically cleared for the Cincinnati Masters — the last significant event before Flushing Meadows.
Per Tennis365’s Kevin Palmer, Alcaraz’s injury is healing slower than expected, sparking fears that he could miss the rest of the season.
Alcaraz himself shared an update on his recovery last week, but the footage raised some red flags among analysts, fans and even former players such as Boris Becker.
In his social post, Alcaraz wrote “on the right path” along with videos of him hitting tennis balls with his injured right wrist. After watching the videos, Becker felt that Alcaraz was nowhere near a return to the court.
“Nice to see him hit a little but still far off I am afraid,” wrote the six-time major winner.
He sustained an inflamed tendon sheath in his right wrist at the Barcelona Open in April, subsequently withdrawing from the Madrid Open, Italian Open, French Open, Queen’s Club Championships, Wimbledon and most recently the Canadian Open.
Several former players and analysts have urged Alcaraz not to push his return, citing past cases of Dominic Thiem and Juan Martín del Potro, whose careers were derailed by similar wrist injuries.
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