Carlos Alcaraz received a walkover into the quarter-finals of the Paris Masters after Matteo Berrettini withdrew from their third-round clash with an arm injury, tournament organisers said yesterday.
The match was scheduled for yesterday evening in the French capital, but the Italian world number 43 withdrew after feeling arm pain.
“Hello everyone, unfortunately the pain in my arm that I have been carrying for a few days will not allow me to go on the court tonight,” Berrettini wrote on his Instagram story.
“In the next few days I will do all the necessary investigations to better understand what it is.”
Second seed Alcaraz, who beat Alex Michelsen in his opening match, advances directly to the last eight, where he will face either France’s Arthur Fils or American Taylor Fritz.
The Spaniard is chasing a fifth title of the season in Paris after winning the Australian Open, Qatar Open, Japan Open and last week’s Vienna Open.
Alcaraz, who missed more than four months with a wrist injury, has already secured his place at the ATP Finals in Turin and carries a 39-5 record this season into the ATP Masters 1000 event.
Japanese to vie against Infantino for FIFA presidency
The Japan Football Association honorary president, Kozo Tashima, has announced his intention to stand against Gianni Infantino to be the next FIFA president.
Tashima, 68, is a member of the Fifa Council and a former international footballer and coach.
He said he wants to convey “integrity, soundness, and high moral standards” and “contribute to a better future for football”.
Infantino has been under intense scrutiny since it emerged he had been planning to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors.
The FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal was abandoned at the end of July, after significant backlash from across world football.
The deadline for candidates to stand in the election is 18 November.
Whilst support for Infantino was severely impacted by the FFE scandal, he has shored up support in recent months.
Infantino told journalists last month that he felt he had the backing of the “vast, vast majority” of world football as he bids for a fourth term in charge of FIFA.
His comments came after he was “fully endorsed” by the Asian Football Confederation – following a U-turn by its president Sheikh Salman.
Former Tottenham Hotspur defender Ramon Vega was the first person to put their name forward in October for next year’s Fifa presidential election.
However, Tashima’s emergence as a challenger – with the backing of the Japan Football Association (JFA) – will now test the strength of Infantino’s supporter base.
As with all candidates, Tashima will require the backing of five FIFA member associations.
