Jannik Sinner described Carlos Alcaraz's absence from the French Open as "painful and very sad" after learning of his rival's withdrawal due to a wrist injury. The world No. 1 received the news following his 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-4 victory over Benjamin Bonzi in the second round of the Madrid Open.
Sinner and Alcaraz contested one of the greatest grand slam finals at Roland Garros last year, with the Spaniard saving match points in a five-set thriller. They also battled for titles 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."
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 returns. 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 is now the hot favourite to complete his career grand slam in Paris but batted away questions about whether Alcaraz's absence would diminish such an achievement. "I think it's not the case to talk about this now," he said. "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."
Sinner won his first Masters title on clay by defeating Alcaraz in the Monte Carlo final two weeks ago but has yet to find his groove in Madrid, never advancing beyond the quarter-finals. He appeared in danger of losing his opening match for the first time since 2023 when Frenchman Bonzi took the first set, but Sinner, while not at his best, turned 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 on the court, a bit tougher to move. The ball flies a bit more. It's quite fast, depending on when the sun is out. 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 aiming to become the first man to win five successive tournaments at this level.
Fourth seed Ben Shelton was an early casualty, beaten 6-4, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (5) by 20-year-old Croatian qualifier Dino Prizmic, who claimed a first top-10 victory. In the women's event, Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina survived a battle, defeating 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.
