Carlos Alcaraz makes his feelings known about Jack Draper's 'sad' mid-match retirement in Australian Open match

Carlos Alcaraz shared his thoughts on Jack Draper's unexpected retirement from their fourth-round match at the 2025 Australian Open on Sunday (January 19). Prior to this encounter, Alcaraz and Draper had met three times on the ATP tour. Although the four-time Major champion won the first two encounters, the Brit emerged victorious in their last clash at the 2024 Cinch Championships at Queens Club.

This year, Alcaraz has been seeded third at the Melbourne Major and he kicked off his Grand Slam campaign by defeating Alexander Shevchenko 6-1, 7-5, 6-1 and Yoshihito Nishioka 6-0, 6-1, 6-4 in the first and second rounds, respectively

The former World No. 1 then overcame Nuno Borges 6-2, 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-2 in the third round. He secured his place in the quarterfinals after his fourth-round opponent, 15th seed Jack Draper, was forced to withdraw after the second set with the score at 7-5, 6-1 ret. due to injury.

During the post match on-court interview, Carlos Alcaraz shared his sentiments about Jack Draper's retirement from their match. He said that the Brit is a "nice person" who doesn't deserve to get "injured."

“Yeah, this is not the way that I want to win a match to get through to the next round. I’m just happy obviously you know to play in another quarterfinal here in Australia but a little bit sad for Jack you know. He is a really nice person. He doesn’t deserve to get injured,” Carlos Alcaraz said.

The Spaniard also said that the Jack Draper retiring from their match made him a "bit sad" and wished the him a "speedy recovery."

“He couldn’t prepare at the start of the season. We should have done a good week of pre-season, but he couldn't because of an injury as well. So I’m just a little bit sad for him. I’m pretty sure he’s gonna come back stronger as he always does and I just want to wish him a speedy recovery,” he added.

The Brit arrived in Melbourne with a hip injury. During the match on Sunday, he required treatment off the court after the first set. However, it didn't help him much as he had to retire after the second set.

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Carlos Alcaraz will face Novak Djokovic or Jiri Lehecka in Australian Open 2025 QF

Carlos Alcaraz at the 2025 Australian Open [Image Source: Getty Images]

Carlos Alcaraz will take on either seventh seed Novak Djokovic or 24th seed Jiri Lehecka in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Australian Open.

Djokovic, who is vying for his 11th Melbourne Major title and 25th Grand Slam title overall, kicked off his campaign at the first Grand Slam of the year by overcoming wild card Nishesh Basavareddy in the first round.

The Serb then secured victories over qualifier Jaime Faria and 26th seed Tomas Machac in the second and third rounds, respectively, to advance to the fourth round.

Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic have met seven times on the ATP tour, with Djokovic emerging victorious in four of those encounters. Their most recent clash was in the final of the 2024 Paris Olympics, where the Serb defeated the Spaniard 7-6(3), 7-6(2) to claim the gold medal.

Meanwhile, Jiri Lehecka entered the Australian Open after a successful stint at the 2025 Brisbane International, where he clinched the singles title and finished as the runner-up in the doubles event alongside compatriot Jakub Mensik.

In Melbourne, Jiri Lehecka emerged victorious over wild card Li Tu in his opener. He advanced to the third round after his second-round opponent, Hugo Gaston, retired from their match during the second set. In the third round, the Czech player defeated Benjamin Bonzi to secure his spot in the fourth round.

Carlos Alcaraz and Jiri Lehecka have faced each other only once on the ATP tour, during the second round of the 2023 Cinch Championships at Queens Club. The Spaniard emerged victorious with a score of 6-2, 6-3.