Carlos Alcaraz has just enjoyed another superb tournament at the Barcelona Open, but it was Holger Rune who ultimately lifted the trophy.
Alcaraz has been praised by Rune following their final, in which the Dane defeated the Spaniard 7-6(8-6), 6-2.
Rune says Novak Djokovic helped him beat Alcaraz for the Barcelona Open title, which represents his fifth ATP success.
The 21-year-old has now risen to ninth place in the world rankings, with Alcaraz dropping back to third despite reaching the final.
His fall from second place comes after Alexander Zverev won the BMW Open, with Jannik Sinner still in first place despite his suspension.
Carlos Alcaraz set for MRI right before the Madrid Open
More worryingly, however, is the current fitness levels of Alcaraz, who during the Barcelona Open final twice received treatment on his upper right leg.
Marca has now provided an update on his situation, reporting that the Spaniard will undergo an MRI on Monday to examine the adductor muscle issue.
The worrying news comes right before the Madrid Open, with the latest ATP Masters 1000 event getting underway on 23 April.
What is Carlos Alcaraz’s history at the Madrid Open?
Alcaraz really has played a lot of tennis in 2025 so far, with a huge 29 matches to his name before the end of April.
That is certain to be taking its toll on the four-time Grand Slam champion, who is, of course, still only 21 years old.
READ MORE: Jimmy Connors tells Carlos Alcaraz what he needs to do next after winning the title in Monte Carlo
But despite the busy schedule, he will be very keen to take on the Madrid Open, not least because he has once again dropped in the ATP rankings and has just lost a final.
Furthermore, however, it is a tournament where he has enjoyed great success, with Alcaraz winning the Madrid Open in 2022 and 2023.
But a quarter-final loss was suffered last time out, with the Spanish superstar losing to eventual champion Andrey Rublev.
His idol and compatriot Rafael Nadal meanwhile is the most successful player at the clay-court tournament with five titles.
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