Jack Draper’s mid-match retirement against the reigning Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz was the result of a hip injury that he described as “a ticking time bomb”.

Carlos Alcaraz sent a touching message of support to Jack Draper after the Briton was forced to retire injured in their fourth round match at the Australian Open. The Spaniard was pushed hard in a competitive first set, but Draper’s body, battered from three straight five-set matches in Melbourne, could not keep pace.

Carlos Alcaraz has reached his 10th career Grand Slam quarterfinal, tied for the most by a man before his 22nd birthday, by advancing at the Australian Open when 15th-seeded Jack Draper stopped playing because of injury after dropping the first two sets of their fourth-round match.