According to his own statement, world number one Carlos Alcaraz was plagued by severe cramps during his semifinal defeat at the French Open.
“The first and second sets were really, really intense. My arm then started cramping. At the beginning of the third set, I started getting cramps in every part of my body, not just my legs,” said the 20-year-old Spaniards after losing to Novak Djokovic. “It was really difficult to move.”
He went into the game physically fit and felt good. However, he was also very nervous at the beginning. The question of why the cramps came about made the Spaniard a little perplexed. The reasons were also the tension and intensity of the game, explained Alcaraz. But he never really thought about giving up.
He had already had cramps in other games, for example in 2021 at the US Open in the game against the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, in which the then 18-year-old surprisingly qualified for the round of 16.
“But it wasn’t at this level. I’ve never felt anything like it is today,” said Alcaraz. “It’s very tough and I’m disappointed in myself. But things like that happen and you have to deal with it and I’ll learn from it.”