Medvedev joins growing injury list ahead of French Open

MADRID: World number four Daniil Medvedev faces an anxious wait to know the full extent of an injury that forced him out of the Madrid quarter-finals on Thursday, as the Russian joined a group of top players struggling with fitness issues before the French Open.

“It was a return when he served and volleyed and I don’t know if I felt it on the return or on the drop shot, but when I ran, I wanted to run faster and faster during the movement, and suddenly felt my hip blocked,” Medvedev said. “I couldn’t sprint, like when you strain a muscle or have a spasm, which is tough to know which of the two. Working with the physio, I asked if I could make it worse. He said ‘if it’s a tear, then yes. If it’s a spasm, no’.

“I tried to play and my mind wasn’t letting me to go full. At the end of the set, I was (thinking) if I want to continue, I’ll just try to sprint to the net... When I sprinted I felt pain. So I was like: no need to continue.”

World number three Carlos Alcaraz has pulled out of the Italian Open as he continues to recover from an arm injury, the twice Grand Slam champion said on Friday. Having successfully defended his Indian Wells title in March and reached the Miami Open quarter-finals, Alcaraz injured his right forearm during a practice session in Monaco and he continues to struggle with the problem that has derailed the start of his claycourt season.