Injured Draper Retires Against Alcaraz, Ending Melbourne Campaign
Injured Draper Retires Against Alcaraz, Ending Melbourne Campaign
Jack Draper, the 15th seed, was forced to retire from his match against four-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz while trailing 7-5, 6-1 in the scorching Melbourne heat.
The 23-year-old left-hander entered the tournament nursing a hip injury and required off-court treatment after the first set. However, as the second set quickly slipped away, he made the difficult decision to withdraw.
Apologizing to the crowd with both hands raised, Draper left Rod Laver Arena to a warm ovation. His run to the fourth round, which included three grueling five-set battles, made him the only Briton to reach the last 16 in either the men's or women's singles draws.
"After all the tennis I’ve played, my body didn’t hold up well," Draper admitted. Having not competed since October, he acknowledged that the toll of the tournament had been too much.
"I was really sore after my last match because I've been managing this hip issue," he explained. "Honestly, I wasn’t expecting to make it this far. The amount of time I’ve spent on court has been a lot for my body to handle."
Meanwhile, 21-year-old Alcaraz, though not at his best during the match, remains on course to become the youngest man in the Open era to complete a career Grand Slam.
The reigning Wimbledon champion, who also claimed the 2022 US Open and 2024 French Open titles, will now face Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals.
Djokovic, chasing a record-extending 11th Australian Open men’s singles title, secured his spot with a straight-sets victory over Czech player Jiri Lehecka, winning 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) later on Sunday.
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