Source : ABC NEWS
It was a rough day for the Australians and the local fans at the Madrid Open as Spanish star Carlos Alcaraz was forced to withdraw, while the green and gold contingent was slashed.
The Sydney duo of Aleksandar Vukic and Rinky Hijikata both crashed out at the celebrated Caja Magica clay-court venue in the capital, with Maya Joint’s loss leaving Daria Kasatkina as the only Australian representative on the women’s side.
News of home favourite Alcaraz’s withdrawal from the tournament to protect a injury left the home fans deflated, with the second seed struggling with hamstring and groin injuries ahead of his French Open title defence next month.
Alcaraz sustained the injury and took a medical timeout during the final of the Barcelona Open, where he was denied a third title by Denmark’s Holger Rune.
Alcaraz had received a bye into the second round and was scheduled to play his first match against Canada’s Gabriel Diallo on Friday before he pulled out.
The 21-year-old said he would try to play the next big tournament in the clay-court swing, the Rome Masters 1000 event from May 7-18, where world number one Jannik Sinner is expected to make a comeback from his doping ban.
It was a similarly tough day for Australian fans as three male players were left on the men’s side and just one on the women’s.
Kei Nishikori beat Vukic 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, marking the Japanese veteran’s 450th victory at tour-level in his distinguished career, with the 35-year-old saying he hopes to reach 500 before retiring.
Vukic suffered his 10th straight defeat in what is turning out to be a wretched season for the 29-year-old world number 83, whose last eight matches have ended with him losing in a deciding set. He has not enjoyed a winning handshake since beating Bjorn Borg’s son Leo in the Davis Cup back in Stockholm in January.
Hijikata enjoyed victories over Lloyd Harris and Fabio Fognini in qualifying but is also enduring a tough run, falling 7-5, 7-5 in his opening-round clash to giant American Reilly Opelka for a fourth straight tour-level defeat in a month.
Australia’s big guns will enter the men’s main draw over the next couple of days, with sixth seed Alex de Minaur set to face Italian Lorenzo Sonego, and 25th seed Alexei Popyrin up against unpredictable Kazakh Alexander Bublik. Chris O’Connell rounds out the remaining Australians in the ATP draw, facing a daunting second-round encounter with third seed Taylor Fritz.
On the women’s side, teenager Joint, fresh off her first WTA 1000 level win, fell to 10th-ranked Emma Navarro in straight sets — 7-5, 7-5.
Kasatkina faces American Alycia Parks after receiving a bye into the second round.
AAP/Reuters
