Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz are locked in a countdown to fitness as the top 5 pair battle to be ready to compete again when the Rome Masters starts in a fortnight.

But anything but a perfectly timed recovery will mean that multiple Grand Slam champions won’t be back on court until Roland Garros starts in just over a month.

Djokovic, who has not played since mid-March when he lost in the Indian Wells fourth round to Brit Jack Draper while carrying a shoulder injury, may have foreshadowed his own recovery troubles as he presented awards in Madrid on Monday at the Laureus event.

“I’m doing everything in my power to recover and participate in Rome, but I can’t say anything now, it all depends on how fast the recovery from the injury progresses.” the 24-time Grand Slam champion said.

Both men are missing from this week’s start of the Madrid Masters, where world No. 1 Jannik Sinner is bidding for history by winning a fifth consecutive Masters 1000 trophy.

Alcaraz is equally uncertain of his return after quitting last week’s Barcelona home event with a wrist injury which may or may not heal in time to defend his titles in both Rome and Paris.

“We will see. The next scan will be decisive, so we are doing everything possible to ensure everything goes well. I am trying to be patient,” he Spaniard said.

Carlos Alcaraz will undergo a wrist scan which may well determine if the injured defending champion will be fit enough to play the French Open.

The Spaniard who withdrew after one match last week in Barcelona and is skipping the ongoing Madrid Masters has put himself in the hands of doctors as his clay season plans blow up.

And the 22-year-old dropped an ominous hint of possible bad news on Monday night as he attended the Laureus sports awards in Madrid where he picked up Sportsman of the Year.

“We will see. The next scan will be decisive, so we are doing everything possible to ensure everything goes well. I am trying to be patient.

“We will see in a few days the state of the injury and the next steps. For now, I am trying to stay positive and keep my spirits up even though the days feel long.”

The 22-year-old who won both Rome and Paris a year ago, expressed profound regret for pulling out of Madrid for a second edition in succession.

“Madrid is home, one of the most special places on my calendar, and that’s why it hurts so much not to be able to play here for the second year in a row. 

“It hurts especially not to be in front of my people, in a tournament.”

Iga Swiatek will start her bid for a second title at the Madrid Masters now fully immersed in RafaWorld after hiring a former collaborator of the King of Clay as her coach.

The one-time world No. 1 heads into battle in the capital under the tutelage of Francisco Roig, who most recently tried to guide Emma Raducanu in a short-lived collaboration.

Swiatek is fresh off a training block at the Nadal academy on the island of Mallorca and keen to test out her new coaching setup in a tournament stress test.

The 22-year-old who won the Madrid title in 2024 admitted that having Nadal around during some of her training produced some unaccustomed nerves

“First 15 minutes of practice, I was so tight,” Swiatek said on Monday prior to her start. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, how should I play? He’s watching, he’s right there, you know.

“Rafa gave Francis more space to coach me, From time to time, he was giving me tips and also telling me some stories, how he struggled with some stuff and how he managed to work on them and what were his solutions,”

The WTA elite player appreciated the fresh insight: “It was really nice to get that perspective. It was still a big challenge to have two new people on the court and start playing on clay after hard court. 

“Honestly, it was probably one of the best practice weeks I had before a clay-court season. So I’m really happy that I could experience that.”