PARIS — Iga Swiatekavoided another shock defeat against Filipina teenager Alexandra Eala by fighting back to win their Madrid Open second-round match.
World number two Swiatek, who was stunned by Eala in Miami last month, won 4-6 6-4 6-2 on the Spanish clay.
“I understand that there’s hype about these young players, but you have got to be focused on yourself,” Swiatek said afterwards.
World No 3 Carlos Alcaraz, meanwhile, withdrew from the Madrid Open with a thigh injury, in a blow for his French Open title defence preparations.
The Spaniard, a four-time Grand Slam winner, sustained the problem during his Barcelona Open final defeat last Sunday by Holger Rune.”I did everything that was in my hands but it didn’t improve a lot over the (last few) days,” Alcaraz told a news conference.
“Things didn’t work out as I wanted to be able to play here, and we have decided not to take risks,” he added according to AFP.
“If I played, I was going to be messed up for longer than expected… hard decisions had to be made, and I think we made the right one.”
Alcaraz was hoping to lift the trophy in Madrid for the third time after his 2022 and 2023 victories.
The 21-year-old had not trained all week after arriving in the Spanish capital on Monday.
The Spaniard did not rule out competing in the Italian Open and said he was sure he would make the French Open.
“I think I will definitely be at Roland Garros and I will do everything possible to be in Rome,” said Alcaraz.
“On Monday I’ll have another test to see how it’s evolved, and from there we’ll take the times and evaluate how the next few weeks are going to be and how my body is doing.”
The French Open main draw begins on May25.
Corentin Moutet was booed off the court after smashing his racket and retiring midway through the second set of his first-round match against fellow Frenchman Harold Mayot at the Madrid Open.
Trailing 3-6, 2-3, Moutet smashed his racket in frustration after losing a point. He walked to his chair to get a new one but, after what seemed like an exchange of words with the jeering crowd, headed to the umpire to signal his retirement.
The 26-year-old later said on X that he had been struggling with a lingering back injury throughout the match.
“I went to do an MRI directly after my match. I’m still waiting for the result,” Moutet wrote on X after the match.
“I wanted to try but I didn’t know that it would be that bad,” he added according to Reuters.
“My back didn’t allow me to do much. I hope to be back soon on the court. All the best to my opponent for the rest of the tournament.”
Briton Jack Draper, meanwhile, has given his backing to world No 1 Jannik Sinner over the doping controversy which saw the Italian accept a three-month ban and said he does not deserve any of the hate he gets.
Sinner accepted the ban in February following a deal with the World Anti-Doping Agency, which had challenged a tribunal’s decision to clear him after two positive tests.
The 23-year-old three-time Grand Slam champion has not played since winning the Australian Open in January.
“When people ask about him, or anyone, I’ll tell the truth. I think Jannik is a really, really genuine, nice person,” Draper told the Guardian and BBC in a joint interview published recently.
“In this situation I’m sure that he would have absolutely zero idea of anything. That’s just the way life goes — sometimes there’s mistakes.
“In terms of actually how I feel about him as a person, I think it’s important for people to know and recognise that the guy’s very, very kind-hearted and a good human being. So he doesn’t deserve any of the hate that he gets.”
World No 6 Draper, also 23, practised with Sinner at the Tennis Club de Beaulieu in France. Sinner was cleared to return to training from April 13.
“If you can train with anyone, it’s got to be probably the best in the world, right? He’s obviously had a bit of time off, but he’s playing at an incredible level still,” Draper said.
“I’m looking forward to having him back on the tour, because I think his presence has been missed. It was great to be with him for a few days and get some good sparring.”
