Roland Garros, Alcaraz with cramps. The injury and the rules. Here’s what happened

An even set, a beautiful game without a master. And then, in an instant, everything changes. The third set begins, 1-0 for Alcaraz. Then Djokovic goes to serve and right in the exchange in which he gets the 1-1. But the Spaniard complains of pain: he touches his right leg, stays still, leaves his racket on the ground. The judge, Aurelie Tourte, gets down from her chair to make sure of the situation. Djokovic also leaves his side of the pitch to get closer to his rival.

But Alcaraz remains in pain, limping. He tries to stretch, so it’s cramps. He needs a MTO, a medical treatment. Which costs him a game. Because the rule states that medical treatments can only be carried out when changing sides. If the player decides to do so, he loses the games leading up to the time-out. In this case, just one.

Then Alcaraz will benefit from the second, and last, medical treatment, but with no apparent benefits. In fact Djokovic easily wins (6-1) the third set, and the only thing Alcaraz will do to gain time and wait for the cramp to dissolve is the toilet break, which can only be done at the end of the set.

The rules have changed over the years in tennis. The event that shook spirits occurred on August 28, 1995, when Japanese Shuzo Matsuoka was eliminated from the US Open after suffering cramps in the fourth set of his first round match against Petr Korda while leading two sets to one (6 -7, 7-6, 7-6, 5-5). Matsuoka lay screaming in pain for three minutes before he could get help, as the rules of the time did not allow medical treatment for cramps. Then there was a rapid change in the rules of professional tennis the following year.

But, in 2010, an opposite case changed the trend: still in New York, in 2010, Nicolas Almagro took a medical break before serving. Then, rested, he beat American Robby Ginepri in five sets. The tactical behavior of the Spaniard caused a sensation, and the ITF/ATP and also the WTA rethought the rules, up to the current ones.