Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz in 'sad' Madrid Open scenes ahead of Roland Garros

The tennis community has been left in disbelief after both Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz left the Madrid Open under tough circumstances only weeks out from Roland Garros. Sinner has been in sensational form to start the 2024 season having already won the Australian Open.

And while he has started strongly on clay, having made the Monte Carlo semi-final, the Italian left his fans stunned when he withdrew from his quarter-final clash in Madrid due to an injury. Sinner defeated Karen Khachanov in the round of 16, but didn't take to the court for his clash against Felix Auger-Aliassime after he claimed he was advised to sit out.

The Italian admitted he had been in pain all week and didn't want to make the injury worse ahead of the French Open in a little more than two weeks time. "Very sad to have to withdraw from my next match here in Madrid," he said to his fans on social media.

"My hip has been bothering me this week and has slowly been getting more painful. Taking the advice from the doctors we decided it's best to not play further and make it worse."

Sinner will most likely miss the Italian Open as he looks to recover in time for the French Open. Fans were left stunned at Sinner's setback with the Italian heading into the grand slam as one of the favourites.

Carlos Alcaraz loses to Andrey Rublev in Madrid

Spain sensation Alcaraz was seeking history to become the first player to win the Madrid Open on three straight occasions. But his bid to overtake Rafa Nadal fell short after he lost in a three-set thriller to Andrey Rublev.

The Russian and Spaniard played their match in great spirits as they went head-to-head on centre court. And Rublev was stunned after the match having played arguably his best tennis of 2024. When asked about what shocked him about his performance, Rublev joked: "That I was able to stay calm all the match. I don't know how - even me, I'm surprised."

RELATED:

• Nadal honoured in Madrid after setback as family in tears after sad admission

• Rafa Nadal's brutal Alex de Minaur call shocks tennis fans

Alcaraz would have surpassed Nada's record of 14 straight wins in Madrid if he had made the semi-final. However, he will now remain equal with his tennis idol as he looks ahead to the Italian Open. Alcaraz will have to decide whether to get more match fitness in Rome, or rest his body before the French Open.

Afrer the match, Rublev credited his own serve for getting the better of the young Spaniard. "I think the serve saved me a lot of times today," Rublev said. "I think the key was I was completely calm the whole match. I did not say one word, even if I was losing. That was the key and I was able to serve even better near the end. In the beginning, I was not serving that well but little by little, after set one, I served better and better and finished really well."

Alcaraz withdrew from the Monte Carlo Open due to an arm injury and the Spaniard admitted he is getting back to his best ahead of the Paris grand slam. "I think I'm in a good shape right now. I'm not feeling anything in the forearm, and I played good tennis," he said the other day. "Obviously I'm not hitting my forehand on my hundred per cent ... but I'm just focused to hitting the forehand as relaxed as I can. I'm really happy to be competitive without pain."