Much like last year, Carlos Alcaraz once again struggled with cramps at the 2024 Roland Garros, but this time, he handled them far better.
Last year’s Roland Garros semi-final was annoying for the young Spaniard, who experienced painful cramps just as he was starting to turn around the match against Novak Djokovic.
This year, he experienced cramps again in the semi-final match against Jannik Sinner, but they were lighter compared to last year, and he knew how to handle them.
Unlike last year when he lost the match because of the cramps, this year Alcaraz was able to overcome that and turn around the match against Sinner despite trailing 1-2 in sets after three sets played. Sinner also struggled, but they fought and delivered a pretty good show.
“I saw him struggling a little bit. I was cramping… Jannik as well in the 3rd set. We had to fight. I learned from last years match against Djokovic I was in the same position like today. I know in these moments you have to be calm and keep going because the cramp is gonna go away.”
“You have to stay there and fight. It was a little weird in the 3rd set. The 4th set and 5th were really good points and great tennis. I’m happy about everything I’ve done today. Waiting for my moments until the last moment when I took it.”
Alcaraz has been looking really strong, and he’s hoping that all the experience he gathered last year and this year will help him in the final on Sunday. He’s going to face Alexander Zverev, who once bested him in Paris, so it won’t be a very easy match.
The German can play long rallies and matches, so he must be careful about approaching this match. It might be long, and there might be cramps, so he’ll need to be ready for all of that.