Carlos Alcaraz is far too nice a man to take pleasure from an opponent’s retirement, particularly a friend.
But a part of him will nevertheless also be delighted to have avoided a tough contest, as he moved into the quarterfinals of Australian Open 2025 sooner than expected on Sunday when his opponent, Jack Draper, quit due to a left hip injury, trailing 7-5, 6-1.
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Draper had played three five-set matches and spent more than 12 hours on court to get to the fourth round in Melbourne for the first time. The Briton left the Rod Laver Arena for treatment after a tight first set but was hampered in the second and decided to pull out, sending third seed Alcaraz through to a meeting with either 10-time champion Novak Djokovic or Czech 24th seed, Jiri Lehecka.
It was a sad end for the 23-year-old, who had shown such resolve to fight through three consecutive five-set battles, knocking out two Australians in the process in Thanasi Kokkinakis and Aleksandar Vukic.
A semifinalist at the US Open last September, Draper missed two weeks of pre-season training and pulled out of the United Cup with the same injury and it seems the toll on his body was too much, Draper later revealing that he has tendinitis in his left hip.
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“I was really, really sore after I played my last match,” Draper told reporters.
“(With) this hip thing, which I have been managing the last week or so … I wasn't expecting to come this far, actually, in all honesty. Obviously with all the hours I have played, (it has) been a bit too much on my body. I felt like today, from the first couple of games, I felt everything getting worse. Not ideal to end this way.
“I didn't feel amazing before my last match but obviously got out there and it felt OK. Maybe it was a little bit of a ticking time bomb, considering I had no preparation and no work for my body. I think I have really surprised myself with how much I have been able to put myself through.”
Alcaraz wrote some kind words for Draper on the camera, saying: “You will be where you deserve. Get well soon Jack”, and clearly felt for his opponent.
“This is not the way I want to win a match, to get through to the next round,” Alcaraz said.
“I’m happy to play in another quarterfinal but I am a little bit sad for Jack, he’s a nice person, he doesn’t deserve to get injured. He couldn’t prepare properly for the pre-season because of injury so I’m just a little bit sad for him. I’m sure he’ll come back stronger. I just want to wish him a speedy recovery.”
Draper said he was taking “lots of pain killers” as he managed his hip, the 12 hours, 34 minutes on the court taking their toll. Criticised for his fitness in the early part of his career, he proved a lot of people wrong this week but even if he fought superbly in the first set, the writing was on the wall.
Alcaraz began the match on the attack, taking second serves early and looking to move forward at every opportunity. The Spaniard, who missed last year’s Australian Open because of injury himself, had chances to break in both Draper’s first two service games but the Briton dug deep to stay on level terms.
Draper even had chances to break himself at 2-2, but Alcaraz saved two break points to stay in front and then broke with a fine drop shot. At 5-3, he served for the opening set, only to throw in two double faults and hand Draper an unlikely chance to break back.
He took it, too, when Alcaraz netted a tame backhand, and held serve to level at 5-5. But Alcaraz gathered himself quickly, holding serve and then snatching the set with another break.
Draper left the court with the trainer for treatment and Alcaraz went to see his team, chatting away at the back of the court. When the Briton eventually returned, he continued to fight but his movement was clearly hampered.
Alcaraz took full advantage, moving him around the court and showing his ruthless side.
The Spaniard ripped through the second set and after a brief visit from the trainer to Draper, that was that.