World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz out of Davis Cup finale with injury

Spain’s world number one Carlos Alcaraz will miss the Davis Cup Final 8 tournament in Italy this week due to injury, the two-time Wimbledon champion announced on X on Tuesday.

“I am very sorry to announce that I will not be able to play with Spain in the Davis Cup in Bologna. I have swelling in my right hamstring, and the medical advice is not to play,” the 22-year-old six-time Grand Slam winner said.

“I’ve always said that playing for Spain is the greatest thing there is, and I was really looking forward to helping the team fight for the Davis Cup trophy.”

Alcaraz’s announcement comes two days after he was beaten by his arch-rival Jannik Sinner, the Italian world number two, 7-6 (7/4), 7-5 in the ATP Finals title-decider in Turin.

While both Sinner and Alcaraz breezed into the final, the championship game was an attritional affair, with each player rock-solid on serve until an enthralling tie-break at the end of the first set.

Sinner took the lead thanks to a brilliant lob which set up a set point, and he made no mistake with a missile of a serve which Alcaraz could only limply send wide.

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But Sinner immediately handed Alcaraz the advantage in the second set with two double-faults, which helped hand his opponent a break of serve at the start of the frame.

Sinner hadn’t dropped a service game in the whole tournament up to that point, but he broke back in game six to put the crowd on their feet.

And Sinner collapsed to the ground in joy when Alcaraz sent a backhand wide on the first championship point, before heading into the stands to share his joy with his family amid the roars of the crowd.

Notably, Sinner had already announced he would miss the Davis Cup Final 8 tournament, with hosts Italy aiming for a third title in a row.

Italy’s second-highest-ranked player, Lorenzo Musetti, has also pulled out of Italy’s defence.

Austria, France, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Argentina and Germany are the other countries vying for victory in Bologna.

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