Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic have both withdrawn from the Mutua Madrid Open due to injury.
World No 2 Alcaraz is recovering from a wrist problem. He received medical attention during his first-round win over Otto Virtanen in Barcelona and pulled out of the tournament before his next scheduled match against Tomas Machac, forcing him to miss the biggest tournament in his home country, which begins on April 21. On social media Alcaraz said: “There are some news that are incredibly hard to share. 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 that means so much. Thank you for the unwavering affection, and I hope we see each other soon.”
Djokovic has withdrawn while continuing to manage a lingering right shoulder issue that also kept him out of Miami and Monte Carlo. The 38-year-old, who lost to Alcaraz in the Australian Open final and was beaten by Jack Draper in the fourth round at Indian Wells, announced on Instagram: “Madrid, unfortunately I won’t be able to compete this year. I’m continuing my recovery in order to be back soon.” Other players to pull out of Madrid include Taylor Fritz, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and Britain’s Jacob Fearnley.
Alcaraz’s absence means Jannik Sinner will almost certainly be the top seed at the French Open and is likely to be world No 1 until at least the end of Wimbledon, barring further changes. Djokovic will be aiming for a record 25th Grand Slam when the French Open begins on May 24, and remains in a race to be fit for that event.
Britain’s Jack Draper is also battling fitness after retiring with a knee problem during his first match in Barcelona this week.
In other results, Rafael Jodar beat Cameron Norrie 6-3 6-2 in the Barcelona Open quarter-finals, extending his winning streak to eight and becoming just the fifth Spanish teenager in the Open Era to reach the Barcelona semi-finals. The 19-year-old will face ninth seed Arthur Fils in the semi-final. Katie Boulter was beaten 6-4 6-1 by Veronika Podrez in the quarter-finals in Rouen.