LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 14: Carlos Alcaraz of Spain poses with the Gentlemen's Singles Trophy following victory against Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the Gentlemen's Singles Final during day fourteen of The Championships Wimbledon 2024 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 14, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Getty Images

Carlos Alcaraz has been off the ATP Tour since Barcelona due to a right wrist injury that will prevent him from playing the French Open, where he is the two-time defending champion.

Former British No. 1 Greg Rusedski believes the injury will sideline the seven-time major champion and world No. 2 for Wimbledon as well.

The French Open runs May 24-June 7, and Wimbledon runs June 29-July 12.

“That’s where I want to be as healthy as possible. But I’m going to try to get my reps in through Paris, maybe play a few tournaments on the grass, and then peak for Wimbledon. Never discount him.

“If Novak’s healthy and the body’s there, he can beat anybody. He’s still that good. But it kind of feels like this is like crunchtime moments coming up from the next few weeks.”

Djokovic is a 24-time major champ and widely considered the GOAT of men’s tennis. He lost to world No. 79 Dino Prižmić of Croatia in his first match at the Italian Open earlier this month.

He’s still seeking a record 25th major and his best chance may come if he doesn’t have to beat Alcaraz and world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the same event.

The “New Two” have won the last nine Grand Slam titles in a row.

Sinner is the heavy betting favorite at Roland Garros and will be at Wimbledon, where he beat Alcaraz in four sets in last year’s final.

When he announced in April he would miss Roland Garros, Alcaraz wrote on X/Twitter:

“After the results of the tests carried out today, we have decided that the most prudent thing is to be cautious and not participate in Rome and Roland Garros, while we wait to assess the evolution to decide when we will return to the court. It’s a complicated moment for me, but I'm sure we'll come out stronger from here.”