Number one in the world: Alcaraz cancels Australian Open due to injury

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The climber of the tennis year 2022 has to watch first in the new year: Carlos Alcaraz misses the Australian Open

Photo: CJ GUNTHER/EPA

Tennis world number one Carlos Alcaraz has to cancel his participation in the Australian Open due to an injury.

The 19-year-old US Open winner announced this on Twitter on Friday.

According to this, Alcaraz suffered a muscle injury in his right leg and will therefore be absent from the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, which begins on January 16th.

“I worked so hard to get my best level for Australia.

(...) It's tough, but I have to be optimistic, recover and look ahead," wrote Alcaraz.

Alcaraz had already stopped an injury at the end of last season.

After an abdominal muscle injury, he had to pass for the ATP Finals of the top eight professionals of the season in Turin and the Davis Cup finals.

climbers of the previous year

Thanks to his Grand Slam success in Flushing Meadows, Alcaraz rose to become the youngest number one in history last year.

The Spaniard also benefited from the injuries of competitors such as Grand Slam record winner Rafael Nadal or Olympic champion Alexander Zverev and the fact that Novak Djoković was prevented from participating in several major tournaments, including the Australian Open, due to his corona vaccination status .

Despite this, Alcaraz is considered a player who could mark an era similar to Nadal, Djoković or the recently retired Roger Federer because of his skills.

After Alcaraz' cancellation, defending champion Nadal is the top seeded player in Melbourne, followed by Norwegian Casper Ruud and Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Also among the favorites are Djoković, who is allowed to participate again this year thanks to a visa, Canadian Davis Cup winner Félix Auger-Aliassime and last year's finalist Daniil Medvedev from Russia.

Zverev also returns to the court after a long injury break.

cev/dpa