Jannik Sinner described Carlos Alcaraz's absence from the French Open as "painful and very sad." The world number one learned of his rival's withdrawal due to a wrist injury after battling to a 6-7 (6) 6-1 6-4 victory over Benjamin Bonzi in the second round of the Madrid Open.
Tennis Needs Alcaraz
Sinner and Alcaraz played one of the great Grand Slam finals at Roland Garros last year, with the Spaniard saving match points in a five-set thriller. They also contested trophies at Wimbledon and the US Open. "Tennis needs Carlos," said Sinner. "Tennis is a much better sport when he's around. But being young, going through difficult moments, it can happen. I do believe he's going to come back stronger than before. But injuries are always tough, especially a wrist. There are certain areas of our body that are very sensitive. The wrist, we saw with other players in the past, can complicate our life. So I hope he's going to come back and will not have any further injuries."
Right Decision to Rest
While disappointed, Sinner believes Alcaraz made the right decision not to rush his recovery and hopes he will be fit for Wimbledon. "If you come back too early, then maybe you have a bigger problem afterwards," added the Italian. "We all want him to be competitive when he comes back. In this case, the next goal, I guess for him, and I hope so, is Wimbledon. So I hope he's going to be back there. I sent him a wish for a speedy recovery, though it's painful and very sad for all tennis."
Sinner will now be the hot favourite to complete his career Grand Slam in Paris. The 24-year-old batted away questions about whether Alcaraz's absence would diminish that potential achievement. "I think it's not the case to talk about this now," he added. "We are in Madrid now, and I'll try to go as far as I can here, and then we talk about this in Paris."
Madrid Open Progress
Sinner won his first Masters title on clay with victory over Alcaraz in the final in Monte Carlo two weeks ago but has yet to find his groove in Madrid, never making it beyond the quarter-finals. It appeared the Italian might lose his opening match at a tournament for the first time since 2023 when Frenchman Bonzi took the opening set. However, Sinner, while never hitting top form, managed to turn the contest around to claim an 18th straight victory. He described the conditions in the Spanish capital as "unique," saying: "It's a little bit more slippery, the court, it's a bit tougher to move. The ball is flying a little bit more. It's quite fast, depending upon when there is the sun. But I'm happy to be here, happy to put myself in the position. I also need to improve a couple of things if I want to go further. This performance was good when it counted, not perfect, but you cannot be perfect always."
It is only the second set Sinner has lost at a Masters event in 2026, with the top seed bidding to become the first man to win five successive tournaments at this level. Fourth seed Ben Shelton was an early casualty, the American beaten 6-4 6-7 (4) 7-6 (5) by 20-year-old Croatian Dino Prizmic, with the qualifier claiming a first top-10 victory. In the women's event, Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina survived a real battle, eventually seeing off Romania's Elena-Gabriela Ruse 4-6 6-3 7-5, while third seed Coco Gauff eased to a 6-3 6-0 win against Leolia Jeanjean.
