"When you have a Ferrari and the gas tank is empty": Carlos Alcaraz Monte-Carlo withdrawal the 'smart thing to do' says Andy Roddick

As Carlos Alcaraz waits to see whether he can return to action next week at the Barcelona Open, Andy Roddick has added his view that in his eyes it is the 'smart thing to do' to withdraw from the Monte-Carlo Masters.

Alcaraz has only played the Monte-Carlo Masters once and withdrew last year to physical discomfort after Miami. This year, he came to the tournament which seems to be doomed for him with discomfort in his right forearm. This cut short practices and meant he had to withdraw. It is yet another injury for Alcaraz who seems to be plagued with bad luck.

It is the second time in the space of a few months that he has been troubled by this injury with the Spaniard also withdrawing from Swiss Indoors Basel last year. He also had an ankle issue at the Rio Open during the South American Clay Court season which derailed him. He has since been seen hitting back home at the Juan Carlos Ferrero Academy. In particular, he has been testing out his forearm with venomous shots presumably to see if he can add the load onto it and play next week.

“I have been working in Monte Carlo and trying to recover until the last minute from an injured pronator teres in my right arm, but it was not possible and I cannot play!” he wrote on social media.

“He’s been talking about his forearm for two or three days now,” the American told the Tennis Channel. This is the smart thing to do, especially when you have a Ferrari and the gas tank is empty, let’s take a play-off, let’s fill that back up and get ready for the rest of the clay court season.”

Roddick added: “There’s no chance that there’s something wrong structurally if he travelled to Monte Carlo and if he is trying to hit.”