Carlos Alcaraz pulls out of French Open title defence due to wrist injury
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Alcaraz suffered injury in Barcelona Open first round
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‘Tennis needs Carlos’, says fierce rival Jannik Sinner
Carlos Alcaraz has been forced to withdraw from the French Open due to the injury to his right wrist that he sustained last week in his first-round match at the Barcelona Open.
Alcaraz, a two-time French Open champion, had begun the clay-court season this month favoured to win his third successive title in Paris. After losing in the Monte Carlo Masters final to his great rival Jannik Sinner, who leapfrogged the Spaniard with his victory to reach No 1 in the rankings, the 22-year-old travelled to the Barcelona Open where he competed in his first-round match against Otto Virtanen two days later. The load on his body proved too much and he injured his wrist in the straight sets victory before withdrawing from the tournament a day later.