Carlos Alcaraz, the physiotherapist explains the troubles.

Carlos Alcaraz, the physiotherapist explains the troubles.

The first confrontation with Novak Djokovic in a Slam hurt Carlos Alcaraz, who was eliminated in the semifinals at Roland Garros in four sets after falling prey to cramps. The day after the match, the Murcia player’s physiotherapist, Juanjo Moreno, confirmed that the problem was psychological rather than physical.

“After the match I worked with Carlos, his body is fine, he is responding as he should and his muscles are also in order. This is because, at the conclusion of the match all the tension has passed to translate into a moment of relaxation. While during the match, accumulating it excessively produced cramps in the long run.”

“It happens to so many athletes in the press room, in post-match press conferences, for example. Carlos has always handled the approach to important matches very well, in the warm-up we were having fun, he was having fun but then when he actually approached the match the nerves emerged, the tension, obviously on this occasion it is likely that the mental tension was greater than in other situations,” he told Cadena Cope.