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Iga Swiatek was left in tears after being forced to retire from her third-round Madrid Open match, just minutes after having her vital signs checked by medical staff.

The Pole had dropped the first set 7-6(4) to American Ann Li and looked rusty on Manolo Santana Stadium before responding strongly to take the second set 6-2.

However, the hot conditions in the Spanish capital appeared to take their toll on Swiatek, who quickly fell a break down in the decider.

She opted to take a medical timeout and told the tournament doctor she wasn’t feeling well, before having her vitals checked at 3-0 down and ultimately retiring from the match.

The former world No. 1 has, so far, struggled during the clay-court season, having reached the quarter-finals of the Stuttgart Open before falling to Mirra Andreeva for the first time in her career.

In her opening match in Madrid, Swiatek produced an impressive 6-1, 6-2 victory over Daria Snigur.

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“The last two days were pretty terrible,” she stated during her post-match press conference.

“I think I have some virus, so I know you guys want your answers, but you better watch out. So it’s been, you know, some hours fine, some hours pretty bad, so high heart [sic].

“There is something going on between players that the virus is somewhere on site, so I’m sure I’ll be fine in a couple of days, but I had zero energy and zero stability.

“I just felt really bad physically and yesterday even worse so I thought maybe today it’s going to be better but maybe it was but not enough to play a tennis match.

“Well I still felt like I had a chance but then in the third set I started feeling even like a little bit dizzy and not really coordinated so I couldn’t really drink anything because I just felt like I’m full constantly and the energy went down drastically.

“Until the third set started, I felt like I still have a chance. So this was the case right now. But I don’t remember the second time I retired.”

Her match against Li marks the Pole’s first mid-match retirement since her Rome quarter-final against Elena Rybakina in 2023.

The American collects her second top-10 victory and will next play Canadian Leylah Fernandez.

Last season, Swiatek reached the semi-finals of the Madrid Open, where she was comprehensively beaten by Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-1.

As a result, she was defending 390 ranking points and will now drop 325 of them, adding to a difficult stretch for the Pole.

She could drop to world No 3 if Gauff reaches the final or Amanda Anisimova wins the title.

Swiatek will next compete at the Italian Open, which takes place from May 5 to 17.

READ NEXT: Carlos Alcaraz facing huge rankings implications as his worst injury nightmare is confirmed

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Novak Djokovic will benefit the most from Carlos Alcaraz’s shock French Open withdrawal, whilst Jannik Sinner may, instead, only have ‘added pressure’ to lift his maiden title in Paris.

On Friday, the Spaniard sent shockwaves through the tennis world after announcing that he would be unable to participate in the Italian Open and French Open after picking up a wrist injury during the Barcelona Open.

Alcaraz looked in fine form at the Monte-Carlo Masters, having reached the final, before travelling to Barcelona and winning his first match 6-4, 6-2.

During that match, he utilised a medical timeout towards the end to have the physio treat his wrist discomfort.

However, the world No. 2 withdrew from the event less than 24 hours later and made clear that the injury was ‘more serious’ than he had thought.

Alcaraz did not set a date for his return to the tour, as the exact timeline will depend on how well his wrist recovers during the upcoming rest period.

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“It’s a bummer,” began Wertheim during the Tennis Channel segment.

“I mean, I don’t think this was a big shock. I mean, I was in Barcelona last week, he pulled out, and there was a sense that he probably wouldn’t go to Madrid. In Madrid, there was a sense he probably wouldn’t go for Rome. Now we get Roland Garros.

“I mean, he showed up at that Laureus awards with a cast, but it’s just so unfortunate.

“The guy won the previous major, he was the two-time defending champion here, here at Paris, where I am.

“It’s just, you know, you hope this is – playing the long game here – you hope he’s okay, but it’s really disappointing for everyone, starting with him.”

Alcaraz had won the French Open in both 2024 and 2025 and was the title favourite for the upcoming edition.

Last season, the Spaniard was victorious in the longest-ever Paris final, 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(2), in five hours and 29 minutes.

Coco Vandeweghe, a fellow contributor and former world No. 9, weighed in with her take, adding that Alcaraz’s decision may be the correct one for his career long term.

“As Jon said, he’s playing the long game out here.

“We know that Carlos Alcaraz and also Jannik Sinner, they’re chasing, basically, the greatest of all time in Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

“We see the posts that he came out with this morning. I woke up to it, woke up to the news, and it is tough.

“You want to see the defending champions to be able to contend for their title again. You want to see them be able to go up against the best in the world with three out of five.

“We’ve seen so many athletes, not only just tennis players, come back too soon, and that’s not what you want when it comes to your sport.

“You want to be able to see these athletes play long into their 40s, like Novak Djokovic.”

Most interestingly, Jason Goodall – who has been commenting on tennis for over 20 years – analysed that the Spaniard’s withdrawal from the Parisian event will most benefit Djokovic, who is looking for a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title.

The Serb last lifted a Grand Slam trophy at the 2023 US Open, having struggled since with multiple physical issues and the rising dominance of Sinner and Alcaraz.

In January, he defied the odds to defeat the two-time defending champion Sinner in a five-set semi-final thriller, ultimately falling to the Spaniard in the showpiece match.

“it wasn’t like we didn’t think this might happen,” stated Goodall.

“Feliciano Lopez, one of the tournament directors here, actually said that, before the start of these [Madrid] championships, that he could well miss Roland Garros. So obviously he had a little inside news there.

“But I just think, obviously, it opens up a huge window of opportunity for the other players. And you’re talking about Jannik Sinner, he’s now been the heavy, heavy, heavy favourite.

“And what about Novak Djokovic? Because, of course, the challenge for him has been, could he go through both? He was strong enough to win and go through one, but two was just a little too much of a test for the GOAT.

“But maybe now he can sense the opportunity and his drive for 25 might now be well and truly back on.

“And I think also it piles the pressure on Sinner. How will he handle all of these tournaments?”

Indeed, Sinner will be the heavy favourite at the French Open after the dominant duo have won all of the last nine Grand Slams.

The Parisian event will take place from May 24 to June 7.

 

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Former world No 4 Greg Rusedski has backed Alex Eala to “figure it out” on clay after the Filipina star’s one-sided loss at the 2026 Madrid Open.

Eala suffered a 6-2, 6-1 defeat to world No 21 Elise Mertens in the second round at the WTA 1000 tournament in Madrid on Friday.

The world No 44 lost her serve five times and was unable to break the 30-year-old Belgian, while she won 38 of the 99 points played.

The 21-year-old defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-3, 6-3 in her opening round match in the Spanish capital.

Eala was beaten 6-1, 6-4 by Leylah Fernandez in the first round at the Stuttgart Open last week. She started her clay campaign at the WTA 500 in Linz, where she beat Julia Grabher before falling to Jelena Ostapenko.

Speaking on the latest Off Court Cuts episode of his podcast, Rusedski assessed Eala’s clay-court season so far and the convincing nature of her last two defeats.

“Well, it’s the harder hitters. It’s being on tour week in and week out. And you’re going to take some bruising losses,” said the 1997 US Open runner-up.

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“If you look at the one she lost the week previous in Stuttgart to Leylah Fernandez… I mean, she (Fernandez) pushed Rybakina all the way.

“So, the losses she (Eala) takes are not bad losses, it’s sometimes the scorelines. And this is part of the learning experience.

“She’s too good a player, she’ll figure it out. And what I like is her resilience.

“And if you’re a fan out there, just be a little patient. It might take a little bit longer for her, but she’s got a great team of people around her. And she’s got to find solutions. So don’t get too discouraged.”

Discussing Eala earlier this month, Rusedski said: “For me, I’m always optimistic about her.

“I always think she’s challenging herself. She has a great team of people around her. She’s fully committed and she’s got great support.

“And everything’s kind of new at the moment. We’ve talked about, yes, the serve needs to be better. Yes, when she comes [up against] a big hitter, sometimes she struggles and gets hit off the court. But you gotta consistently put yourself out there.

“She’s gonna get stronger physically, she’s gonna get more tactically astute, she’s gonna start hitting the ball harder.”

READ NEXT: Jannik Sinner speaks out about Carlos Alcaraz’s ‘very sad’ French Open withdrawal

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Jannik Sinner declared that it was a “very sad for tennis” as he reacted to the news of Carlos Alcaraz’s withdrawal from the French Open.

Alcaraz announced on Friday that he had pulled out of both the Italian Open and the French Open due to a wrist injury. The Spaniard won both the Italian Open and the French Open in 2025.

The seven-time Grand Slam champion was forced to pull out of the ATP 500 event in Barcelona last week after suffering the wrist injury in his opening round win.

The world No 2 then withdrew ahead of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Madrid, which began on Wednesday this week.

Alcaraz had not missed a Grand Slam since he was unable to compete at the 2023 Australian Open due to a hamstring injury.

World No 1 Sinner, who is in action at the Madrid Open, was asked if Alcaraz’s withdrawal makes him the favourite for the French Open.

“I don’t know. I think this is not what we should talk about,” replied the 24-year-old Italian.

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“I think the most important thing to say is that, first of all, tennis needs Carlos – tennis is [in] a much better spirit when he’s around.

“And also for me personally, it’s nice when he’s around, it makes me look also in the draw and single matches in a different way. Even though if I face Carlos, it would always be in the final, being the No 1 and No 2 seeds, that’s the case.

“I send him [wishes for] a speedy recovery, even though it’s painful and very sad for tennis.

“Being young and going through difficult moments, it can happen. I do believe he’s going to come back stronger than before. But injury is always tough, especially [the] wrist.

“There are certain areas of our body which are very sensitive, and the wrist, we saw with those other players in the past can complicate our lives.

“I hope he’s going to come back and he will not have any further injuries.

“But I also believe that it’s good that he and his team takes the time, you know, because if you come back too early then maybe you have a bigger problem afterwards, and we all want him to be competitive when he comes back.”

Sinner was speaking after his 6-7(6), 6-1, 6-4 victory over Benjamin Bonzi in his opening match in Madrid, and he admitted he found the conditions in the Spanish capital challenging.

“I struggled quite a lot, but I knew this before the match that it is a very unique court and conditions,” the four-time major champion said.

“But I believe every day is different, so hopefully I can improve slightly for the next round. I tried to stay calm mentally and that is why I won today.

“I have some time tomorrow and will try to use it in a positive way.”

READ NEXT: Carlos Alcaraz facing huge rankings implications as his worst injury nightmare is confirmed

The post Jannik Sinner speaks out about Carlos Alcaraz’s ‘very sad’ French Open withdrawal appeared first on Tennis365.

Carlos Alcaraz’s announcement that he is out of the French Open has rocked tennis and now former British No 1 Greg Rusedski has urged him not to rush back to action as he nurses a wrist problem.

Alcaraz confirmed his worst nightmare on Friday as he confirmed he was out of the second Grand Slam of 2026, where he was due to be the defending champion.

“After the results of the tests carried out today, we have decided that the most prudent thing is to be cautious and not participate in Rome or Roland Garros, while we wait to assess the progress in order to decide when we will return to the court,” said Alcaraz during his withdrawal post on social media.

“It’s a complicated moment for me, but I’m sure we will come out of this stronger.”

Now 1997 US Open finalist Rusedski has given his verdict, as he suggested the world No 2 gas made the right call to resist any temptation to try and play in Paris.

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“I think it’s the right play. Health is your wealth,” said Rusedski on a quick-fire reaction edition of his podcast.

“He’s already won seven majors at such a young age. He has all four slams already. It’s just incredible what he’s done.

“This is where the team has managed him correctly, you know, just not putting an expectation, any pressure. He wants to try to be ready for Wimbledon. You know, he lost that tough final last year to [Jannik] Sinner.

“It is a little bit disconcerting because he’s gonna miss Paris, that’s an extra two weeks away, which is a total of four and a half weeks off right now with the injury.

“He will truly be missed in Paris, but what an opportunity for Jannik Sinner.”

Alcaraz will now face a race against time to play at Wimbledon at the end of June, with Rusedski suggesting he would need to play a warm-up event to confirm he is ready to play on the grass.

“Is he gonna have enough time three weeks afterwards to get ready for the Wimbledon Championship? Hopefully he will be back for the grass court season, but this puts a lot of things in doubt,” he added.

“Fingers crossed by about the second week of Paris, he’s already into his stride. Also when you’re playing on clay, there are long, drawn out rallies on the grass court. It’s a little bit shorter. It’s a little bit sharper as well.

“It just depends on what the conditions are going to be like in summer. If it’s hot, the ball goes through the air quickly. If it’s going to be a little cooler, it goes a little slower. So Carlos will only come back when he’s 100 % fit and ready to go. And let’s hope.”

READ NEXT: Jannik Sinner on ‘quite unique’ Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic situation at Madrid Open

The post Former British No 1 says Carlos Alcaraz’s injury nightmare ‘puts a lot of things in doubt’ amid Wimbledon claim appeared first on Tennis365.

Carlos Alcaraz’s injury nightmare has moved to the next level after it was confirmed he will not only miss next month’s Rome Masters, but will he will also be absent from the second Grand Slam of the year at Roland Garros.

Confirmation that Alcaraz will not defend the French Open title he won in such spectacular fashion in the final against Jannik Sinner last year did not come as a surprise, as there was a widespread belief that the wrist injury he sustained while playing at the Barcelona Open would rule him out for an extended period.

While Alcaraz has not confirmed how long he will be out for, missing a Grand Slam where he is the defending champion is a huge blow for the 22-year-old, who released the news via his social media channels.

“After the results of the tests carried out today, we have decided that the most prudent thing is to be cautious and not participate in Rome and Roland Garros, while we wait to assess the evolution to decide when we will return to the court,” he stated.

“It’s a complicated moment for me, but I’m sure we’ll come out stronger from here.”

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With Wimbledon on the calendar just three weeks after Roland Garros, there has to be a chance that Alcaraz will be forced out of that tournament as well, with the rankings implication of his injury lay-off set to have a huge impact.

He will not be able to defend the 1,000 ranking points he won after beating Sinner in last year’s Rome Masters final and the 2,000 points he collected at Roland Garros.

He also has lot of points to defend at Wimbledon after reaching the final in that tournament last year and the comments he used in his statement confirming he was out of Rome and French Open suggests he doesn’t know when he will return.

Even if he made a swift return after Wimbledon, Alcaraz could be as much as 6,000 points behind his big rival Sinner in the rankings if the Italian cashes in on his rival’s absence to go on a trophy collecting spree.

Alcaraz may also be in danger of sliding out of the top two of the ATP Rankings, with the chasing pack now set to be presented with a big chance to chase down the seven-time Grand Slam champion, who was a long way ahead of his big rivals in the world No 1 spot after he won the Australian Open in January.

It appears Alcaraz was left with little option other than to pull out of Roland Garros and former British No 1 Greg Rusedski suggests we all need to see the bigger picture for the 22-year-old.

“He needs to look at the long-term picture and say I’ve got a 10-year career,” said Rusedski on the latest episode of his podcast.

“He can’t afford to have a wrist injury that is serious. Look at Juan Martin del Potro, one of the greats of our game. He never solved his wrist problem and never came back to the player he once was,”

“So take your time, make sure it’s 100 per-cent ready to go. Don’t rush it back. So I don’t think he really overall cares about the ranking points. It’s about health is your wealth.

“The four majors are what really define you as a great of the game. He’s already won seven. He’s only three away from 10 already at such a young age, which is incredible.

“I heard there’s rumors in Monte Carlo in the finals he wasn’t feeling his best with the wrist. Maybe had a little niggle there and sometimes he pushed through and that’s normal to have niggles, aches, pains in certain areas.

“He did the right thing to pull out of Barcelona with the injury and if I look at this picture, even if he misses the French, it’s not such a big deal.”

Rusedski went on to compare the scheduling plan being followed by world No 1 Jannik Sinner and his great rival Alcaraz.

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Sinner looks to take breaks between events, while Alcaraz played back-to-back tournaments in Monte Carlo and Barcelona before picking up his injury.

“You look at Jannik Sinner and this guy has got great scheduling,” he added. “His preparations are always perfect. He’s always the first one to the tournament and when he plays he’s ready to go. He’s had very few injuries. He manages his body well but also you got two different personalities.

“You look at Carlos, he loves to have a good time. He likes to go out and partying. He likes to go on his boat.

“Sinner’s more relaxed, more focused on the tennis, more serious about his recuperation. One of the key ingredients is sleep, relaxation, and time away. And that’s what the best players balance out so well. And if you can’t do that, then you get these niggles, these pains, and these injuries, and it’s finding that balance.”

READ NEXT: Jannik Sinner on ‘quite unique’ Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic situation at Madrid Open

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Carlos Alcaraz has announced that he has withdrawn from both the Italian Open and the French Open, adding that he will ‘assess the progress’ of his wrist injury before returning to the tour.

The Spaniard first experienced wrist discomfort during his opening match at the Barcelona Open, which he won 6-4, 6-2 against Finn Otto Virtanen.

However, Alcaraz required a medical timeout towards the end of the first set, receiving treatment on the affected area.

While he managed to come through that match, he was forced to withdraw from the tournament the following day and later admitted in his press conference that the injury was ‘more serious’ than initially expected.

Alcaraz’s French Open withdrawal is the first Grand Slam missed by the Spaniard since the 2023 Australian Open, when he had just one Grand Slam.

“After the results of the tests carried out today, we have decided that the most prudent thing is to be cautious and not participate in Rome or Roland Garros, while we wait to assess the progress in order to decide when we will return to the court,” said Alcaraz during his withdrawal post on social media.

“It’s a complicated moment for me, but I’m sure we will come out of this stronger.”

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Carlos Alcaraz Garfia (@carlitosalcarazz)

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Alcaraz was victorious in both Rome and Paris 12 months ago, meaning he is set to drop 3,000 ranking points.

As a result, Sinner’s lead at the top of the rankings looks likely to grow further, particularly if he enjoys a strong campaign at the Madrid Open.

The Italian currently leads Alcaraz by 400 points and could extend that advantage by a further 1,000 points should he lift the title in the Spanish capital.

The Spaniard also had an outside chance to complete the Calendar Grand Slam, after having won his maiden Australian Open title in January.

Although he has not revealed a precise diagnosis for the wrist injury, Alcaraz made it clear in his statement that there is currently no fixed timeline for his return.

The priority, for now, appears to be recovery rather than rushing back to competition.

“It’s a more serious injury than we all expected, and I have to listen to my body so it doesn’t affect me in the future,” the Spaniard stated during his withdrawal press conference at the Barcelona Open.

“With great sadness, I have to return home and recover as quickly as possible for the upcoming tournaments.”

Alcaraz had been scheduled to compete at the HSBC Championships at Queen’s Club from 15–21 June, before launching another Wimbledon campaign.

Should the six-time Grand Slam champion be unable to return in time for the grass-court swing, he would risk losing a further 1,800 ranking points.

Last season, he won the ATP 500 event (defeating Czech Jiri Lehecka) and reaching the final at SW19 last year, where he lost to Sinner in a four-set match.

The post Carlos Alcaraz withdraws from Italian Open and French Open in major injury blow, comeback unclear appeared first on Tennis365.

Madison Keys has become the latest high-profile player to withdraw from the Madrid Open with the announcement coming just hours before she was due to start her campaign.

The 2025 Australian Open winner joins Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Emma Raducanu, Marketa Vondrousova and Barbora Krejcikova on the list of Grand Slam winners to pull out of the joint-ATP-WTA 1000 tournament.

2025 Australian Open champion Keys has not featured on the WTA Tour since losing in the semi-final of the Charleston Open, but travelled to Spain for the first WTA 1000 event on clay this year.

She was seen practising at Caja Magica on Thursday and was due to face China’s Zhang Shuai in the second round on Friday, but organisers confirmed that she withdrew due to illness.

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Austria’s Anastasia Potapova took her place in the main draw and the lucky loser made the most of her opportunity as she defeated Zhang 6-3, 6-1 to secure her place in the third round.

Keys, though, is the 14th WTA player to withdraw from the Madrid Open with Amanda Anisimova the highest-seeded woman to pull ot.

WTA Madrid Open withdrawal list

• Amanda Anisimova (world No 6) – replaced by Panna Udvardy
• Karolina Muchova (world No 11) – replaced by Viktorija Golubic
• Ekaterina Alexandrova (world No 14) replaced by lYuliia Starodubtseva
• Veronika Kudermetova (world No 17) – replaced by Anastasia Potapova
• Emma Raducanu (world No 27) – replaced by Ajla Tomljanovic
• Emma Navarro (world No 28) – replaced by Ashlyn Krueger
• Maya Joint (world No 29) – replaced by Moyuka Uchijima
• Sara Bejlek (world No 35) – replaced by Zeynep Sonmez
• Marketa Vondrousova (world No 45) – replaced by Julia Grabher
• McCartney Kessler (world No 48) – replaced by Kamilla Rakhimova
• Barbora Krejcikova (world No 52) – replaced by Irina-Camelia Begu
• Sonay Kartal (world No 55) – replaced by Petra Marcinko
• Varvara Gracheva (world No 60) – replaced by Eva Lys
• Veronika Kudermetova (world No 64) – replaced by Taylor Townsend

ATP Madrid Open withdrawal list

On the ATP side, the tournament suffered two hammer blows when local hope and seven-time Grand Slam winner Alcaraz was forced to withdraw due to a wrist injury he sustained at last week’s Barcelona Open.

That news came not long after tennis great Djokovic also announced he would miss the Madrid Open and they were joined by fellow seeds Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe and Jack Draper.

• Carlos Alcaraz (world No 2) – replaced by Sebastian Ofner
• Novak Djokovic (world No 4) – replaced by Adam Walton
• Taylor Fritz (world No 7) – replaced by Roberto Bautista Agut
• Frances Tiafoe (world No 19) – replaced by Jesper de Jong
• Jack Draper (world No 28) – replaced by Patrick Kypson
• Holger Rune (world No 39) – replaced by Francisco Comesana
• Sebastian Korda (world No 40) – replaced by Alexander Shevchenko
• Botic van de Zandschulp (world No 52) – replaced by Cristian Garin
• Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (world No 53) – replaced by Alexandre Muller
• Raphael Collignon (world No 71) – replaced by Marco Trungelliti
• Arthur Cazaux (world No 73) – replaced by Alexander Blockx
• Kamil Majchrzak (world No 74) – replaced by Thiago Agustin Tirante

There has also been one retirement in the men’s draw with Reilly Opelka unable to finish his first-round match against qualifier Nicolai Budkov Kjær as he retired while 3-5 down against the Norwegian.

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Stefanos Tsitsipas won his first match in a month as he ended his losing streak at the Madrid Open, but the match was marred by an argument with the chair umpire and several insults directed at his coach and father, Apostolos.

Former world No 3 Tsitsipas has endured a torrid time of late on the ATP Tour as he has slipped to No 80 in the ATP Rankings as, before this week’s Madrid event, he had suffered four opening-round defeats in five tournaments.

But he finally tasted success again on Thursday as he defeated lucky loser Patrick Kypson 3-6, 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-4) to secure a second-round clash against eighth seed Alexander Bublik.

But the match against world No 90 Kypson was not without drama as Tsitsipas received a couple of code violations for speaking to his coach Apostolos and he was eventually hit with a point penalty in the third set by chair umpire Marijana Veljovic with the American serving at 2-2, [15-0].

The official announced: “Code violation, coaching, point penalty, Mr. Tsitsipas. 30-0.”

She then explained to the Greek: “If he talks to you in between the points from the beginning until the end.”

But Tsitsipas interrupted: “Does it bother my opponent? As far as I know, coaching is allowed.”

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Veljovic replied: “Yes, discreet. Stefanos, if talks to you when you’re on this side, when you’re on that side – If he talks to you in the whole duration between the two points, that’s just way too much.”

The Greek hit back: “Discreet? Is he bothering my opponent?”

Veljovic: “Not at this moment, but it’s against the rule.”

Tsitsipas: “You said not to talk when I’m on the other side of the court, which I’m doing. I’m actually doing. So why, when I’m on my side, it’s also not allowed?”

Veljovic: “It’s not allowed as much as he does it.”

Tsitsipas: “You’re just going to take a point like this from me because of some stupidity?”

Veljovic: “I have to. Didn’t I tell you? I have to do something about it.”

But his exchange with the umpire and his point penalty resulted in him losing his cool with his coach and father as he was overheard shouting insults in Greek at Apostolos, with whom he has had a difficult relationship, on several occasions.

Some of those include “Bastard, you piece of s***”, “Go f*** yourself, imbecile”, “F*** off” and “stupid”.

Tsitsipas eventually won the match in two hours and 41 minutes and admitted it was a much-needed victory.

“I really needed that win,” he stated. “It gives me confidence. I’ve been trying a lot to improve different areas of my game, but when you’re not getting wins, it’s hard to build trust and belief in yourself.”

The post Madrid Open: Stefanos Tsitsipas hurls insults at his father, calls him stupid, and argues with umpire appeared first on Tennis365.

Juan Martin del Potro was a rival to Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, and the Argentine legend has spoken to Tennis 365 about how Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner compare to the ‘Big Three.’

Djokovic, Nadal and Federer are the three players who have won the most Grand Slam titles in the history of men’s tennis, with 24, 22 and 20 respectively.

From Federer’s first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 2003 to Djokovic’s most recent at the 2023 US Open, the legendary trio won 66 of the 81 majors held in a staggering 20-year period of combined dominance.

Alcaraz and Sinner, who have won seven and four Grand Slams respectively, have secured the last nine majors between them since the start of 2024.

The Spaniard and the Italian’s duopoly in men’s tennis has seen them frequently compared to Djokovic, Nadal and Federer.

What did Del Potro say about how Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner compare to the Big Three?

In an exclusive interview, Tennis365 asked del Potro for his thoughts on how Alcaraz and Sinner’s level compares to the heights the Big Three reached at their peak.

“It’s a difficult one. Difficult one to answer,” said del Potro, who was speaking in his role as an ambassador for the Roland Garros Junior Series by Renault.

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“Of course, Carlitos and Jannik are playing magnificent tennis. They are so good, they are playing well on all surfaces, which is very important.

“But I can’t compare them with the Big Three. The other guys, for me, are very special.

“I played my whole career with them. I know how good they are, how difficult it was to achieve everything that they have done for tennis.”

Del Potro went on to explain why he thinks Alcaraz and Sinner are capable of threatening the numbers achieved by Djokovic, Nadal and Federer.

“I also know that Carlitos and Jannik have a big opportunity to get closer to them, because tennis now is open, and they are playing much better than the rest,” del Potro added.

“So in my point of view, they have big chances to keep winning the big tournaments.”

Del Potro’s career achievements and record vs The Big Three

Del Potro won his only Grand Slam title during the Big Three’s era of dominance, having beaten Federer in a memorable five-set final at the 2009 US Open.

This came after Federer and Nadal had won 17 of the previous 18 Slams between them, with Djokovic securing the other.

During a glittering career spanning from 2005 to 2022, del Potro reached a career-high ranking of world No 3 and won 22 ATP Tour singles titles.

The hugely popular 6ft6in Argentine, who is known as the ‘Tower of Tandil’, achieved these feats despite suffering a host of serious injuries.

Del Potro amassed an impressive 17 wins combined from his matches with Federer, Nadal and Djokovic.

Del Potro vs the Big Three

• 6-11 vs Nadal (35.3%)
• 7-18 vs Federer (28%)
• 4-16 vs Djokovic (20%)

READ NEXT: ‘Carlos Alcaraz made a mistake by leaving Juan Carlos Ferrero’, claims Grand Slam winner

The post Why Alcaraz & Sinner have ‘big opportunity to get closer to Djokovic, Nadal, Federer’ – Juan Martin Del Potro appeared first on Tennis365.