Jack Draper retires hurt against Carlos Alcaraz at Indian Wells

Jack Draper retires hurt against Carlos Alcaraz at Indian Wells

Jack Draper was forced to retire in the second set of his fourth-round clash with Carlos Alcaraz at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

The 21-year-old Brit was ultimately overcome by an abdominal injury he picked up during his previous match against Andy Murray.

He went shot-for-shot with the Spanish world number two in the early stages, but noticeably lagged as the first set went on. Draper's serve and movement suffered as Alcaraz ran away with the opener 6-2.

Some treatment from the physio in-between sets did little to improve his condition, and the world number 43 was only able to last two games in the second set before retiring.

"I felt the ball really well... I'm really happy with that part," said Alcaraz of the 46 minutes of play, as per atptour.com.

"I would say I returned well, I hit great shots. I finished the match with confidence in my shots, to come into the next round with more confidence.

"Honestly, the nerves are there. But you have to handle that, and I would say I handled the nerves really well. That's the goal for me, to show that I'm relaxed, to play relaxed. It's something that I am practising for as well, to play my game, relaxing. If I lose, I lose, but I want to feel relaxed on court."

The result means Alcaraz moves within three wins of regaining the world number one ranking.