According to Tennis Now on Friday, young Spanish tennis sensation Carlos Alcaraz has had to withdraw from the Davis Cup because he has tested positive for coronavirus. At only 18 years of age, Alcaraz has had a sensational season in men’s tennis in 2021.
Currently ranked 32nd in the world, Alcaraz just beat rising American Sebastian Korda of the United States 4-3, 4-2, 4-2 in the final of the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals earlier this month in Milan, Italy. The tournament which is for the world’s rising stars, uses a different scoring system that other events on the ATP Tour. Sets are best of five, however, there is a tiebreak at 3-3 instead of 6-6. There is also no advantage scoring in each game. In addition to winning the Next Gen ATP Finals with its funky rules, Alcaraz reached the quarterfinals of the United States Open this year, and won the Croatia Open in July, where he beat France’s Richard Gasquet, 6-2, 6-2, in the final.
Gasquet is one of eight current or former top 10 players Alcaraz beat in 2021. Others were Andy Murray of Great Britain (second round of Vienna, 6-3, 6-4), Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece (third round of the United States Open, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6, 0-6, 7-6), Matteo Berrettini of Italy (quarterfinals of Vienna, 6-1, 6-7, 7-6), David Goffin of Belgium (second round of the Great Ocean Road Open in Melbourne, 6-3, 6-3), Casper Ruud of Norway (quarterfinals of the Andalucia Open in Marbella, Spain, 6-3, 6-4), Jannik Sinner of Italy (second round of the Paris Masters, 7-6, 7-5), and Lucas Pouille of France (first round of Croatia, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2).
Now with Alcaraz out, he will be replaced by 40-year-old Feliciano Lopez. Spain already did not have the services of the legend Rafael Nadal (foot injury) and Roberto Bautista Agut (abdominal injury) according to Dzevad Mesic of Tennis World. Spain is the defending Davis Cup champion, having beaten Canada in the 2019 final in Madrid.
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