Rune into Paris Masters semis after Alcaraz retires

World number one Carlos Alcaraz retired injured against Holger Rune at the Paris Masters on Friday, sending his fellow 19-year-old through to the semi-finals..

Rune outclassed Alcaraz to win the opening set 6-3 and held firm in the second when the top seed raised his game before the Spaniard retired at 3-1 down in the tiebreak having received medical treatment for an abdominal strain at 6-5.

“I cannot stretch. I couldn’t serve well, I couldn’t hit the forehand well,” said Alcaraz. “I preferred to retire and see it and take care of it.” Alcaraz was hopeful of making a full recovery for his debut at the ATP Finals in Turin, which begin on Nov. 13, despite the quick turnaround.

“I have some tests on how it’s going to be before Turin,” he added. “But right now I’m focused on trying to get better in the abdominal and trying to be at 100% in Turin.”