Carlos Alcaraz is into yet another Grand Slam quarter-final after his Australian Open fourth round win over Jack Draper.
The battle between ATP number three Alcaraz and British number one Draper was, however, cut short by the latter.
Draper didn’t feel ‘too great’ ahead of his meeting with the Spaniard, having played three successive five-set matches in Melbourne.
Alcaraz has been shining at the Australian Open, with the four-time Grand Slam champion dropping just one set before taking on Draper.
Draper withdrew from a training camp with Alcaraz due to a hip injury in the off-season, having also withdrawn from the United Cup.
Carlos Alcaraz tells Jack Draper he’ll be back to his best soon
And his injury struggles resurfaced at Rod Laver Arena, where after treatment was forced to retire while losing 7-5, 6-1.
Alcaraz now turns his focus to the quarter-finals, although he was asked in his post-match press conference what he said to Draper at the net after their match.
“Well, for me in that situation, I don’t feel comfortable,” he said. “Obviously it’s not the way I wanted to get through to win matches.
“When I see someone that has to retire because of an injury, for me it’s not an easy moment. I couldn’t tell anything to Jack in that moment. Just wish him a good recovery. Just said sorry.
“I saw him in the locker room that I could speak more with him about it. But I just said that I’m going to see him soon playing his best again.”
Jack Draper joins Naomi Osaka and Grigor Dimitrov in Australian Open injury dropouts
Alcaraz was quick to follow up that sentiment on social media, having shared an image of an embrace with Draper on Instagram.
The Spanish star accompanied that with the kind message: “You will be where you deserve. Get well soon,” words he also wrote on the camera post-match.
Draper now joins an unfortunate list of high-profile dropouts at the Australian Open, with four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka leading the way.
She was forced to retire hurt during her third round meeting with Belinda Bencic due to an abdominal injury, having done the same in the ASB Classic final earlier this month.
READ MORE: Naomi Osaka issues apology after losing the final in the ASB Classic against Clara Tauson
And ATP number 10 Grigor Dimitrov, a 2017 Australian Open semi-finalist, retired with a hip injury in his first round tie with Francesco Passaro.
Draper was always the underdog against Alcaraz, but an upset was certainly on the cards given his resilient displays in previous rounds.
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