Jack Draper’s heroic Australian Open run came to an end after the British No 1 was forced to retire from his fourth-round clash against Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz on Rod Laver Arena.
The British No 1 came into the tournament with little preparation after a hip injury suffered in pre-season, which he admitted he was still having to manage.
He then put his body through three five-set matches, spending more than 12 and a half hours on court, and it proved too much.
After taking a medical timeout at the end of a competitive first set, Draper became increasingly compromised in the second and, after Alcaraz took a 7-5 6-1 lead, the 15th seed decided to shake hands.
Draper had expressed pride in his improved physical resilience and he must hope he has not done any further damage that could affect the rest of his season.
The Spaniard, who could now face Novak Djokovic, said: “It’s not the way that I wanted to get through. I’m just happy obviously to play another quarter-final but a little bit sad for Jack.
“He’s a really nice person, he doesn’t deserve to get injured. He couldn’t prepare at the start of the season well. I’m pretty sure he’s going to come back stronger as always he does and I just want to wish him a speedy recovery.”
With Djokovic again given his favoured night session slot, Draper was not helped by the scheduling as he was forced to play in the full heat of the warmest day of the tournament.
Draper revealed after battling past Aleksandar Vukic in a deciding tie-break at 1am on Saturday morning that he has been working with a breathing coach to try to improve his endurance.
He expected to feel sore and Draper certainly did not look at his most sprightly, but he saved four break points in his first two service games.
Alcaraz then fought off two chances for the British No 1 before finally breaking to lead 4-2, but the Spaniard was not at his brilliant best.
His fourth and fifth double faults of the set at 5-3, coupled with two errors, gave Draper the break back, but a forehand pass down the line clinched a set in which Alcaraz made 21 unforced errors.
Draper then called the trainer and headed off court, with Alcaraz using the time to talk to coach Juan Carlos Ferrero.
And the 21-year-old stepped up a gear at the start of the second set, while it became increasingly clear that Draper was struggling.
He was unable even to try to chase down balls, and, after briefly sitting down at the end of the set, he wisely decided not to continue.
The victory means Alcaraz equals the Open era record by reaching his 10th Grand Slam quarter-final before turning 22, joining Boris Becker, Mats Wilander and Bjorn Borg.
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