Carlos Alcaraz of Spain Photo: PHOTOSPORT
World tennis number three Carlos Alcaraz has withdrawn from the Madrid Open, struggling with hamstring and groin injuries.
Alcaraz sustained the injury during the final of the Barcelona Open where he was denied a third title by Denmark's Holger Rune, who stunned the Monte Carlo Masters champion in straight sets.
"I couldn't practise the entire week and found out I had hamstring and groin injuries. I needed to listen to my body and make the right decision," Alcaraz told reporters.
"On Monday I'll have more medical tests and after that we will have a better idea on how long I'll be out.
"This tournament is very exciting, but things haven't worked out the way I wanted to be able to compete. It hurts me not to be able to play here in Madrid in front of my people, my friends and my family."
The 21-year-old will now take a break to recover for his French Open title defence next month.
The next major tournament in the claycourt swing is the Italian Open, a Masters 1000 event from May 7-18 in Rome, where world number one Jannik Sinner is expected to make a comeback from his doping ban.
"I expect to go back to court and start practising in a couple of weeks. Rome is still a possibility, but for sure I'll be in Paris," Alcaraz added.
"It's not an easy decision because Madrid is the first tournament I have ever been to as a young kid, it's the most special place for me to play.
"But [prioritising Roland Garros] was a big part of my decision to stop and recover properly."
-Reuters
