‘Heartbroken’ Alcaraz pulls out of Davis Cup Finals

Carlos Alcaraz, who injured himself while missing Spain’s Davis Cup Finals team, claims to be “heartbroken.”

World No. 22 Alcaraz, 22, claims he has been told to avoid competing because of swelling in his right hamstring after being defeated by Jannik Sinner at the ATP Finals on Sunday.

On Thursday in Bologna, Italy, Spain will face the Czech Republic in the Davis Cup quarter-finals.

Spaniard Alcaraz, who won six Grand Slams this year, claimed playing for his country was the “greatest thing there is,” adding, “I’m going home heartbroken.”

Italy’s top-ranked teammate Lorenzo Musetti and world-ranked Sinner, who is the four-time Slam champion, are both missing, leaving only the top-10 players at the eight-team finals, including world number three Alexander Zverev, who is the world number three.

Alcaraz lost to 24-year-old Sinner in the 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 final defeat in Turin, according to the Spanish tennis federation, who claimed the Spaniard had experienced “physical discomfort” in the back of his thigh during the first set.

Alcaraz traveled to Spain’s training camp on Monday, but medical tests revealed a “significant muscle strain with marked oedema” in his hamstring.