Madrid the last gasp for top players before Sinner's return

THE Madrid Masters 1000 this week will be the last elite event at which top seeds can capitalise on the absence of World No 1 Jannik Sinner, before he returns to the fray in Rome.

- DEBORAH CURTIS-SETCHELL

They have been dealt another bonus in that World No 3 Carlos Alcaraz, who briefly stole the No 2 ranking from Alexander Zverev post the Spaniard’s Monte Carlo victory, has withdrawn.

Alcaraz picked up an abductor injury during the recent Barcelona final, which he lost in straight sets to Danish No 1 Holger Rune, reinstating the latter into the top 10.

When the Spaniard uncharacteristically took a medical time-out at a set down early in the second set of that final — with no apparent sign of being hampered or in pain, one began to think he was following compatriot Rafa Nadal’s lead - Nadal being prone to manipulating the MTO (medical time-out) when losing a final.

However, it’s now painfully obvious that Alcaraz’s sudden summoning of the physio in that instance was legitimate.