Carlos Alcaraz sends classy message after Jack Draper retires hurt at Australian Open

Carlos Alcaraz passed on a touching get-well-soon message to Jack Draper and backed the British number one to ‘come back stronger’ after he retired midway through their fourth-round meeting at the Australian Open.

Fifteenth-seed Draper appeared on the verge of tears as he was forced to withdraw from the contest when trailing 7-5 6-1 against Alcaraz on a scorching day in Melbourne.

Draper received treatment and initially tried to battle on following a gruelling first set but the signal was clear as the 23-year-old held both hands aloft at the conclusion of the second.

The world No.18 had been dealing with a hip injury during the off-season, a problem which he was still managing at the beginning of the tournament.

It sets up a quarter-final clash between Alcaraz and the victor of Novak Djokovic’s fourth-round match with 24th-seed Jiri Lehecka.

The Australian Open stands alone as the only Grand Slam that Alcaraz is yet to win and the 21-year-old was understandably delighted to progress through to the last eight.

But the Spaniard took the opportunity to reach out to Draper in the immediate aftermath of his win, writing, ‘You will be where you deserve. Get well soon, Jack!’, on the lens of the courtside camera.

‘This is not the way that I want to win matches, to get through to the next round,’ Alcaraz said.

‘I’m happy, obviously, to play in another quarter-final here in Australia, but a little bit sad for Jack.

‘He’s a really nice person, he doesn’t deserve to get injured.

‘I’m just a little bit sad for him and I’m pretty sure he’s going to come back stronger as he always does. I just want to wish him a speedy recovery.’

Alcaraz said he was ‘feeling great’ both mentally and physically but prepared for an ‘even tougher’ second week.

‘I’m happy with the level I’m playing. On the court and off the court, I’m feeling really comfortable here in Australia which I think is pretty good,’ he added.

‘Basically, I’m feeling great coming into the second week of a Grand Slam. I think it’s really important to feel well physically.

‘Right now, the matches are even tougher so I’m just ready and I think I’m doing great things off the court as well.

‘I’m just happy about playing my second quarter-final here in Australia and hopefully I get further this year.’

Asked whether he would be watching Djokovic’s meeting with Lehecka, Alcaraz replied: ‘I’m going to watch that match, for sure. Where, I don’t know.

‘I have to recover now, I want my mind recover as good as it can with my time.

‘I’m going to try to make the most of my time to put the match on and watch it.

‘I’ll probably be watching it when I’m with the physio, taking in some tactical things.

‘Novak, I played a few times against him and Jiri as well, it’s going to be a really interesting match to watch.

‘For sure, the people are going to watch that match as much as I do so let’s see.’

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