Alcaraz pulls out of Shanghai

Carlos Alcaraz (above) won his eighth title of a sensational season yesterday in Tokyo and then pulled out of the Shanghai Masters because of “physical issues” and took aim at tennis’ packed schedule.

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The Spanish world No 1 hurt his ankle in his opening match at the Japan Open but shrugged off the issue to beat American Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-4 in the final.

But immediately after downing the world No 5, the six-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz took aim at the tennis calendar.

“The schedule is really tight. They have to do something with the schedule,” the recently crowned US Open champion told reporters in the Japanese capital, echoing the sentiments this week of fellow major champions Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff.