Carlos Alcaraz sent a classy message to British tennis star Jack Draper after he was forced to retire from the clash between the pair after two sets in the Australian Open.
The Wimbledon champion proved too much for 15th seed Draper, who had entered the match off the back of three consecutive five-set victories. The 23-year-old was trailing 7-5, 6-1 when he called it a day after requiring treatment off the court following the first set.
Draper was visibly disappointed after making the decision, with Alcaraz attempting to provide some comfort, and raised his hands apologetically to the crowd. The US Open semi-finalist was the only Briton to reach the last-16 in Melbourne.
Rather than taking a moment to celebrate, Alcaraz could not help but pay tribute to his fallen opponent however. Provided the opportunity to sign a videocamera on his way off the court the 21-year-old sent a direct message to Draper.
“You will be where you deserved. Get well soon Jack!” it read.
Alcaraz also paid tribute to Daper in his post-match interview. “It’s not the way I want to get through,” the Spaniard said.
“I’m just happy obviously to play another quarterfinal. But a little sad for Jack. He’s a nice person. He doesn’t deserve to get injured. He’ll come back stronger as always. I just want to wish him a quick recovery.”
Draper had seen an off-season disrupted by injury and only left the Melbourne Park site at 2.30am following his previous match on Friday, before not practising on Saturday ahead of facing Alcaraz. Playing in 34-degree temperatures did not prove an easy task for the Brit.
Third-seed Alcaraz meanwhile defeated Alexander Shevchenko and Yoshihiti Nishioka in straight sets, before requiring four to prevail over Nuno Borges on his way to facing Draper. By reaching the quarter-finals the youngster has already matched his best run at the Australian Open.
Alcaraz’s reward could yet be Novak Djokovic. The Serbian will stand in the way of the El Palmar-born star continuing his route to the one grand slam title that has avoided him, if he defeats Jiri Lehecka.
Before facing Alcaraz, Draper had commented on the injuries he was perserving with. “Essentially I had tendinitis in my hip, which I had to get MRI looked at and stuff,” he said.
“I have had a history of problems in that area. Like, it hasn’t gone away. I’m still dealing with that. Obviously in the preseason, into my back and I couldn’t walk and it was really difficult. I have come here and I have been managing that.
“You know, I have been unbelievably surprised with how much I have been able to play and put my body through, more than I have ever done before, especially. So, yeah, I think it’s just one of those things, just massive overload. This area of my body, you know, if I don’t get that right and I don’t make good decisions, you know, I don’t want to miss three or four months because of that, you know.”
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