World No. 3 tennis player Carlos Alcaraz pulled out of the Monte Carlo Masters on Tuesday because of an injured pronator teres in his right arm.
Alcaraz was set to face Canadian Félix Auger-Aliassime in the second round. The Montreal native was 3-2 in five meetings against Alcaraz in his career but the Spaniard had won the last two encounters.
“I have been working in Monte Carlo and trying to recover until the last minute from an injured pronator teres in my right arm, but it was not possible and I cannot play,” Alcaraz wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“I was really looking forward to playing. ... See you next year.”
Auger-Aliassime beat Luca Nardi of Italy 6-2, 6-3, in the first round to set up the tough second-round matchup. He will now go up against lucky loser Lorenzo Sonego.
The Wimbledon champion had been doing low-key training with strapping to his arm and announced on Tuesday that he is unable to play.
The 20-year-old Spaniard reached the French Open semifinals last year, losing to Novak Djokovic, before beating him in the Wimbledon final.
After winning six titles last year, Alcaraz's only trophy so far this year was when he defended his title at Indian Wells, again beating former U.S. Open champion Daniil Medvedev in the final.
Alcaraz defeated Auger-Aliassime in both Indian Wells title runs after the Canadian won the first three meetings between the players.
Auger-Aliassime has a 2-1 record against Sonego.
-With files from the Associated Press.
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