ISLAMABAD (News Desk): British number one Jack Draper ran out of steam at the Australian Open as he retired injured against Spanish third seed Carlos Alcaraz in the fourth round.
Draper, seeded 15th, called a halt to the match when trailing 7-5 6-1 against four-time major champion Alcaraz on a hot day in Melbourne.
The 23-year-old left-hander, who came into the tournament with a hip injury, needed treatment off the court after the first set before abandoning the contest when the second quickly slipped away.
“After how much I have played, I didn’t pull up amazingly well,” said Draper.
Before this Australian Open campaign, he had not played competitively since the end of October.”I was really, really sore after I played my last match because I have been managing this hip thing,” Draper said.
“I wasn’t expecting to come this far in all honesty. With all the hours I have played, it has been a bit too much on my body.””From the third game, I felt I had multiple areas that were really in pain – especially the hip.”
Asked if he considered not playing at all, he added: “We were managing it, I didn’t feel amazing before my last match, but obviously got out there and it felt OK.”Maybe it’s a little bit of a ticking time bomb, considering I had no preparation and no work for my body.”
Alcaraz relieved his tension with a visceral “vamos” when he held for 6-5 and he then pounced to take the opening set.
Knowing his opponent’s physical issues, Alcaraz raised the aggression of his groundstrokes to move a break ahead at 3-0 in the second set before clinically seeing it out, prompting Draper to call time on their encounter.”It is not the way which I want to win,” said Alcaraz.
“I’m happy to play another quarter-final here in Australia, but I am sad for Jack – he doesn’t deserve to be injured.”I wish him a speedy recovery.”
