PARIS, France (AFP) — World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz retired from his Paris Masters quarterfinal against Holger Rune on Friday with an abdominal injury, while defending champion Novak Djokovic made quick work of Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti.
Alcaraz, the reigning US Open champion, lost the first set and was trailing 3-1 in a second set tie-break when he decided to stop, having received treatment to his left side at the previous changeover.
“It’s something wrong on the abdominal,” Alcaraz said. “At the end of the set, it was wrong. It was getting wrong and I preferred to retire and take care about it.”
The Spanish teenager had been attempting to win a third Masters title of the year after victories in Miami and Madrid.
Alcaraz would have been confirmed as the year-end world No. 1 before the ATP Finals in Turin later this month had he lifted the trophy this weekend in the French capital.
Instead, his participation at the 13 to 20 November event is now in doubt. Alcaraz had arrived in Paris struggling with a knee injury, an issue he downplayed earlier in the week.
“Right now I have some test on how it’s gonna be before Turin, but right now I’m focused to try to get better in the abdominal and trying to be at 100 percent in Turin,” Alcaraz said.
“I cannot stretch. I couldn’t serve well. I couldn’t hit the forehand well. When I turn the body, I feel it. I feel the abdomen in so many movements.”
“It’s in a zone that I have problems, I have problems before,” he added. “Let’s see if it’s the same problem as I felt before or not.”
Rune will face in-form Felix Auger-Aliassime for a place in Sunday’s final. The 19-year-old Dane lost to Auger-Aliassime in the final in Basel last weekend.
Djokovic charged into the last four with a 6-0, 6-3 demolition of the 20-year-old Musetti.
