Citing fatigue, Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz has withdrawn from the National Bank Open, Tennis Canada announced Thursday.
Already a champion of four major tournaments, the 21-year-old tennis player is still in the running at the Paris Olympic Games. He will face Canadian Félix Auger-Aliassime in the semi-finals on Friday.
Alcaraz won Roland Garros and Wimbledon this year, and has a career total of 15 titles.
“It’s been a very long season for me. Due to the number of games played and the accumulated fatigue, I won’t be able to play in Montreal this year,” said Alcaraz. “I was really looking forward to coming back to Canada and enjoying the love of the fans. I hope to see all the fans in Montreal again in the years to come!”
The organisers already had to deal with the absence of world number 2 Novak Djokovic, who withdrew on Monday.
On Thursday, the Serb will face Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Olympics. “We are certainly very disappointed that Carlos is not able to join us,” said Montreal tournament director Valérie Tétreault.
“He was obviously highly anticipated by fans and we were all eager to see him back in action at the IGA Stadium. He is at the beginning of his career, and we will certainly have the chance to see him again in the coming years. The tournament remains extremely high-level, with the presence of the vast majority of the best players in the world.” Francisco Cerundolo (26)e in the world) and Jiri Lehecka (30e) also withdrew from the tournament.
Three players have been added to the table: Marcos Giron from the United States, Alexei Popyrin from Australia and Flavio Cobolli from Italy.
The main draw matches will begin on Tuesday.