Jack Draper retires injured as Alcaraz marches into Australian Open last eight | Australian Open

After an unforgettable week filled with frantic comebacks, limitless adrenaline and the satisfaction of pounding past old mental and physical barriers, defeat came quickly for a physically ruined Jack Draper on the vast, lonely surrounds of Rod Laver Arena.

Across from a special young player on the path towards all-time greatness, Draper’s brilliant Australian Open run ended with a retirement in the fourth round as he was defeated 7-5, 6-1 ret. by Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday afternoon AEST.

Even in defeat, Draper ends his tournament having taken one of the most significant steps forward in his young career to date. After struggling with so many physical issues during his short time on tour, the 23-year-old found a way through three consecutive five-set matches, demonstrating his improved durability and stamina in the process.

While Draper was once extremely nervous about how his body would fare whenever he put it through gruelling best-of-five-sets matches, he now understands that this format can actually be a strength, and that after four hours of battling he is now an extremely difficult opponent to beat.

Still, progress is never straightforward. After suffering a hip injury during the off-season, which he was still managing from the beginning of this tournament, it is obvious the load he put it under over the past week was too much.

Carlos Alcaraz, by reaching the quarter-finals and matching his best ever run at the Australian Open, has lived up to his end of the bargain in the men’s draw. As the 21-year-old continues his pursuit of the Australian Open, the one grand slam title that has eluded him, Alcaraz must wait to see if Novak Djokovic defeats Jiri Lehecka to set up a blockbuster quarter-final between the two greatest active male players.

Draper arrived on Rod Laver Arena with so many factors against him. After spending over 12 hours on-court after playing the three longest matches of his career in consecutive rounds, he had pushed his body to the limit and he now faced the tournament favourite.

From the beginning, Alcaraz showed how dangerous he can be by immediately imposing himself on the Briton’s opening service games. The Spaniard was relentless; first and second serve returns bounced down at Draper’s feet, he completely dominated the baseline and dictated the majority of exchanges by eviscerating forehands, closing down rallies at the net and peppering Draper with drop shots.

While serving for the set 5-3, in total control, Alcaraz momentarily crumbled. After striking two double faults, two messy errors followed as he handed back the break. Alcaraz stopped his run of errors at 5-5, 0-30. Yet the way he took control of the set again and closed it out before a tiebreak only served to illustrate how much of the match was on his racket and determined by his level.

After Alcaraz closed out the first set, Draper immediately called for the trainer while pointing towards his left hip or hamstring. As Draper walked gingerly off the court for an off-court medical timeout, Alcaraz unsurprisingly appeared to be in much better shape as he exchanged jokes with his team.

Things only worsened for Draper after he returned from the locker room. As the second set endured and Alcaraz maintained his stratospheric intensity, Draper’s mobility was increasingly restricted. He ended the set reduced to watching easy balls fly past him for clean winners, barely able to move.

Draper was determined to continue the match although he was no longer competitive but it was clear to all, including Alcaraz, that it was time for him to pull the plug. In the end, Draper’s 15th set of the week proved one step too far in a tournament that has seen him take so many forward strides.