By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday April 15, 2023
Carlos Alcaraz pulled out of Monte-Carlo with injury issues (post-traumatic arthritis in left hand and muscular discomfort in the spine to be specific), but the 19-year-old World No.2 will be back in action next week in Barcelona, where he is the top seed.
Alcaraz is back to defend his title at the legendary Real Club de Tenis Barcelona, and he will be put to the task early and often in a stacked draw.
Here is the Spaniard’s projected path to a successful title defense:
R1 – Bye
R2 – Ivashka or Borges
Round of 16 – [13] Bautista Agut
QF – [5] Tiafoe or [10] Davidovich Fokina
SF – [3] Ruud or [6] Khachanov
F – [2] Tsitsipas or [4] Sinner
The Spaniard will be the favorite to get it done on paper, but he’ll have to be healthy to navigate his way through the draw.
He is 18-2 on the season with titles at Buenos Aires and Indian Wells. Last year at Barcelona he took out Pablo Carreno Busta in the final, after defeating Tsitsipas in a three-set quarterfinal and Alex de Minauar in a three-set semifinal.