madrid: Home-crowd favourite Carlos Alcaraz withdrew from the Madrid Open because of leg injuries.
The third-ranked Spaniard said he has not fully recovered from the upper leg ailment that bothered him during the Barcelona Open final last Sunday. He also said he has a left leg injury. His first appearance at the Caja Magica in the Spanish capital was scheduled for Saturday.
Alcaraz is a two-time champion in Madrid, having won in 2022 and 2023. He was the second seed this week and in the same half of the draw as Novak Djokovic.
Alcaraz needed treatment on his leg during his straight-set loss to Holger Rune in the Barcelona final. He had not practiced in Madrid yet, and said this week that he felt “fine” but was waiting on medical test results to determine whether he would play.
Alcaraz, who will turn 22 on May 5, won in Monte Carlo to start his claycourt campaign and on a nine-match winning run until the Barcelona final. He complained of having to play “so many matches and have so few days to rest.”
Meanwhile, Italian teenager Federico Cina picked up his second ATP Masters 1000 victory by defeating Coleman Wong in straight sets at the Madrid Open, while Gael Monfils became the oldest winner in the tournament’s history.
The 38-year-old Monfils rallied from a poor start to defeat qualifier Borna Gojo 1-6 6-2 6-4 for his first win in Madrid since 2022. The 42nd-ranked Monfils is a two-time quarterfinalist at the Masters 1000 claycourt event.
The 18-year-old Cina won 7-6(5) 6-1 to back up his victory over current No. 70 Francisco Comesaña in Miami last month, which marked his ATP 1000 debut. He saved both break points he faced against Wong and finished with 19 winners.
Belinda Bencic, who returned from maternity leave last October, defeated Zeynep Sonmez 6-0 6-2 on the first birthday of her
daughter, Bella.
The 2021 U.S. Open champion had missed most of the 2023 clay season because of wrist and ankle surgeries. She
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