Carlos Alcaraz’s clay-court season came to an unexpectedly early end. What initially seemed like a minor wrist issue during his opening-round win over Otto Virtanen at the Barcelona Open turned out to be far more serious. Further tests revealed the extent of the injury, forcing Alcaraz to withdraw from Madrid, Rome, and even the French Open.

But even though he’s sidelined, Alcaraz still found a reason to be at Caja Magica, and it was a pretty special one.

The Spaniard was in the stands cheering on his younger brother, Jaime Alcaraz, who was making his debut in the Under-16 tournament at the Mutua Madrid Open. Facing fellow Spaniard Pol Mas Tabuena, the 14-year-old looked right at home, delivering an impressive 6-3, 6-3 win to book his place in the next round.

Carlos wasn’t the only familiar face on Court 7, either. Flavio Cobolli was also there, cheering on Jaime Alcaraz. The World No. 13 has become a close friend of the Alcaraz family over the years and has often trained with Carlos Alcaraz during the offseason in Murcia.

And Jaime clearly took a little inspiration from his older brother for the occasion. For his tournament debut, the 14-year-old stepped onto the court wearing the Nike Vapor 12 “Carlos Alcaraz”: the signature shoe designed by Nike for Carlos. A pretty fitting choice for a memorable first appearance.

Jaime has been making headlines at the junior circuit for the past few years now. He had first drawn attention at last year’s Barcelona Open where he had made an impressive run to the semifinals before being knocked out. Jaime had followed this up by winning the junior Rafael Nadal event later in November. Then came his phenomenal campaign at the Challenger event held in his hometown of Murcia earlier in March.

He had entered the tournament in the 15-and-under category and had performed brilliantly throughout the competition to earn a place in the final. He took on Rodrigo Burgos Casares in the penultimate match and while it was expected to be a close encounter, things turned out quite differently.

Jaime dominated from the get-go and won the match comprehensively by 6-1, 6-2. This is a victory that the teenager will not forget for many years to come. He clearly looks to be on the right path, but early attention comes with its own cons. he 14-year-old will have to keep his feet grounded as he faces constant comparisons with his brother and is under constant spotlight.

While Carlos didn’t say anything about Jaime’s performance in the opening round of the Madrid Open, he was left very impressed with his display at the Barcelona Open last year.

Carlos Alcaraz shares his verdict on brother Jaime’s level

Carlos was left “surprised” after watching Jaime play in Barcelona last year. He had noted that his younger brother plays a lot of drop shots and was happy seeing his progression as a player.

“I usually ask my dad more, how things are going, how he sees him, since he’s the one who follows him and sees him more regularly, and he keeps me updated. He’s doing better, or ‘Right now he’s a bit stuck,’ but honestly, the last thing he told me was that he’s doing really well,” Carlos had said.

“Today, I was honestly surprised, today I was really surprised by the level he has. He hits more drop shots than he should, I don’t know who he gets that from. But honestly, I try to watch him whenever I can,” he added.

It remains to be seen how Jaime will manage the pressure as he continues to turn heads in the tennis world. On the other hand, Carlos will now be hoping to return to action by the time Wimbledon rolls in from June 29. Though he has well over a month until the third Grand Slam of the year commences, the wrist injury can prove to be a major thorn in his preparations.