There is bad news from Rafael Nadal, who announced that he will not play in Rome this year. The Spanish sensation is still struggling with his injury, and there are obvious doubts about his participation at the upcoming Roland Garros. Nadal won the title in Rome 10 times. Carlos Alcaraz will be the top favorite to conquer the prestigious ATP1000 in Italy.
This was Rafael Nadal’s message: “Sorry to announce that I won’t be able to be in Rome. You all know how much it hurts me to miss another one of the tournaments that have marked my professional and personal career because of all the love and support of Italian fans.
Despite I have noticed improvement these past days, it’s many months without being able to train at a high level and the readaption process has its times and I have no choice but to accept them and keep working.
A hug to all.”
Rafael Nadal in 2023
Ranked world no.14, Nadal played his last match on the 18th of January when he lost to world no.54 Mackenzie Mcdonald 6-4 6-4 7-5 in the 2nd round of the Australian Open (draw).
This season Nadal achieved an overall 1-3 match record.
Nadal has scheduled to compete next in Rome (Internazionali BNL d’Italia). He will start the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 10th of May.
Alcaraz in Madrid, ranking, and results in 2023
Currently ranked no.2, Alcaraz has achieved a compiled 27-2 win-loss record in 2023. Alcaraz is currently playing in Madrid where he conquered the world no.41 Emil Ruusuvuori 2-6 6-4 6-2, the world no.32 Grigor Dimitrov 6-2 7-5, the world no.16 Alexander Zverev 6-1 6-2
and the world no.12 Karen Khachanov 6-4 7-5.Carlos Alcaraz will fight against the world no.20 Borna Coric in the semifinal on Friday at 4:00 pm on MANOLO SANTANA STADIUM. They have never played each other until now in top tournaments.
The Spaniard clinched 3 titles in 2023 in Buenos Aires, Indian Wells and Barcelona. Alcaraz was the finalist in Rio de Janeiro (Rio Open).
Alcaraz won 9 titles in his career: 3 on hard courts and 6 on clay courts. (See the list of his titles)
Alcaraz has scheduled to play next in Rome (Internazionali BNL d’Italia). He will start to play the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 10th of May.
Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz squared off 3 times. Their head to head is 2-1 for Nadal. Previously, the last time they played each other, Carlos Alcaraz won 6-2 1-6 6-3 in the quarter in Madrid (Mutua Madrid Open) in May 2022.
In the following video you can watch the highlights.