Andy Murray name-drops Roger Federer when speaking out on Carlos Alcaraz injury

Andy Murray spoke out on the number of matches young competitors are playing, following an injury to world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz at the Rio Open. The Brit used Roger Federer as an example, saying that the expectations on newer faces are too steep.

Murray lost to 18-year-old Jakub Mensik on Wednesday, a day after he ended a six-match losing streak at the Qatar open. Asked about Alcaraz’s injury after the game, he said: “I think that sometimes in tennis it’s looked at a little bit the wrong way, in terms of how many tournaments someone should play, because it’s dependent on how many matches you play.

“If you play four tournaments and you lose in the first round of every one, there is a very different response in the body to making the semifinals and finals two weeks in a row. Playing nine matches across 12, 13 days is very physically demanding.”

Alcaraz entered the Argentina Open, which started on February 10 before travelling to the Rio Open immediately after a loss in the semifinals to Nicolas Jarry. The Spaniard sprained his ankle in the first round against Thiago Monteiro on Tuesday.

Murray then went on to namedrop Federer, saying: “I think for young players it has to be based on the amount of matches you’re winning. If you’re winning and doing really well every week, then you should play a lighter schedule.

“Federer was probably the first one to do that and did it extremely well, but you can’t go ‘oh, well everyone should just play a lighter schedule’, because not everyone is making the final every week like he was.

“Players that are lower down in the rankings need to make ranking points, they need to earn prize money, and make the most of the tournaments they can get into. It depends on the quality of the player and the amount of matches that they are winning. It’s not a straight answer for everyone