Ailing Draper abandons Alcaraz match in Melbourne heat

British fig 1 Jack Draper ran retired of steam arsenic Spanish 3rd effect Carlos Alcaraz moved into the Australian Open quarter-finals.

Draper, seeded 15th, retired erstwhile helium was trailing 7-5 6-1 against four-time large champion Alcaraz connected a blistery time successful Melbourne.

The 23-year-old left-hander needed attraction disconnected the tribunal aft the archetypal acceptable earlier abandoning the lucifer astatine the extremity of the second.

He held some hands up to the assemblage by mode of an apology earlier going disconnected Rod Laver Arena to a lukewarm ovation.

"It is not the mode which I privation to win," said Alcaraz.

"I'm blessed to play different quarter-final present successful Australia, but I americium bittersweet for Jack – helium doesn't merit to beryllium injured.

"I privation him a speedy recovery."

Draper, who came done 3 gruelling five-setters to scope the 4th round, was the lone Briton to scope the past 16 of the men's oregon women's singles.

Alcaraz, 21, was acold from his champion during their contention but continues his bid to go the youngest antheral successful the Open epoch to implicit the vocation Grand Slam.

The reigning back-to-back Wimbledon champion, who besides won the 2022 US Open and 2024 French Open, could look Novak Djokovic next.

Serbia's Djokovic, aiming for a record-extending 11th men's singles rubric successful Australia, plays Czech Jiri Lehecka aboriginal connected Sunday.