Olympic tennis: Carlos Alcaraz says he’s been dealing with a groin muscle problem since Wimbledon

PARIS (AP) — Carlos Alcaraz took a medical timeout for what he said is a lingering groin muscle issue in the second set of his 6-1, 7-6 (3) singles victory over Tallon Griekspoor at the Paris Olympics on Monday night.

Alcaraz is scheduled to play doubles for Spain with Rafael Nadal on Tuesday — and the opponents happen to be the Dutch pair of Griekspoor and Wesley Koolhof.

“It’s a pain that I’ve been dealing with. I know what I have to do ... to deal with this pain,” said Alcaraz, a 21-year-old who won the French Open at Roland Garros, the same site being used for Olympics tennis, last month, and Wimbledon this month.

“I will try to recover as soon and as (best) as I can tonight,” he said, “to be ready ... 100 percent tomorrow in my doubles.”

Alcaraz said he watched part of Nadal’s 6-1, 6-4 loss to Novak Djokovic in singles earlier Monday, before preparing to face Griekspoor.

“When Djokovic is playing at this level, it’s really, really difficult to play against him. Really aggressive, no mistakes, moving very, very well,” Alcaraz said. “I saw Rafa playing decent, let’s say. Not his best tennis, for sure. But when Djokovic is like this, he’s almost unbeatable.”

That last word is one often used to describe Alcaraz, who was the first teenager to reach No. 1 in the ATP rankings, was the youngest man to win major titles on hard, grass and clay courts, and defeated Djokovic in each of the past two Wimbledon finals.

“One of the best players there is,” Griekspoor said about Alcaraz. “Someone who likes to play on this court. He made it very difficult for me in the first set.”

That was clear.

But in the second, Griekspoor began to serve better and hit more aggressively, and suddenly it was a much tighter match. After Alcaraz left the court with a trainer while trailing 5-4 in that set, he returned and was a single point from being pushed to a third.

Griekspoor couldn’t convert that chance, which Alcaraz erased with a volley winner that he celebrated with a right uppercut and a yell of “Vamos!” Soon, in the tiebreaker, he was back in full control.

“I didn’t see any problems with him,” Griekspoor said when asked how Alcaraz seemed in the second set. “I don’t know what the problem was, but it’s not like he fell down or twisted his ankle and couldn’t walk anymore. He was still all over the place.”

Griekspoor said he would prepare for the rematch of sorts by going back and taking a look at the first-round doubles victory for Nadal and Alcaraz to help figure out a game plan.

“We’ll see how both of them are physically tomorrow,” Griekspoor said.

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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games