Alcaraz gives thumbs up for injury recovery after Rome opener

Carlos Alcaraz is back and firing on all cylinders at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia.

The No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings enjoyed a double boost on Friday at the clay ATP Masters 1000 event in Rome, where he performed well to down Dusan Lajovic in straight sets while also showcasing that his recent adductor injury is behind him.

“Today was a great match for the start of the tournament. I surprised myself, honestly,” said Alcaraz, who was playing his first match since the Barcelona final on 20 April, when he suffered the injury. “I expected a worse match from my side. I’m just really happy. The most important thing was the injury and how it was going in the match, if I was going to feel it or not, and today was great. I moved great today without any pain, so it was a great day.”

Here, there and everywhere 💨@carlosalcaraz aka Speedy Gonzales! @InteBNLdItalia | #IBI25 pic.twitter.com/yip7XBCU6O

— ATP Tour (@atptour) May 9, 2025

Having suffered the injury in his Barcelona final defeat to Holger Rune, Alcaraz next travelled to Madrid but was ultimately forced to withdraw from his home Masters 1000 tournament because of it. After improving to 5-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Lajovic in Rome, the Spaniard revealed his relatively straightforward path back to full fitness.

“I took some days without doing anything, just recovering with the physio,” Alcaraz told reporters in the Italian capital. “I didn’t do any physical preparation or any movement at all. When I went home on Monday, after coming back from Madrid, I did a test to see how it was, and it was almost perfect, so then I started to practise. So it was a mix of taking it easy and of course practising to get ready for Rome.”

A six-time Masters 1000 titlist, including last month in Monte-Carlo, Alcaraz will take on 31st seed Laslo Djere for a spot in the fourth round. The 22-year-old is competing for just the second time in Rome, where he fell in the third round to Fabian Marozsan on his only previous appearance in 2023.

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