Matteo Berrettini has withdrawn from his third-round match against second seed Carlos Alcaraz at the Rolex Paris Masters, scheduled for Thursday night on Court Central. Alcaraz goes through to the quarter-finals without playing. The French Tennis Federation (FFT), which organises the tournament, gave no reason or medical details to explain the withdrawal.

As a result, one of the matches originally scheduled on Court 1 moves to Court Central.

Berrettini’s run ends after two wins

The Italian, ranked No. 43, had beaten Brandon Nakashima on Tuesday to complete his set of match wins at every Masters 1000 event, then beat Frenchman Ugo Humbert 7-6 (3), 7-5 on Wednesday. Alcaraz led their head-to-head 3-1, most recently winning in the last 16 at Wimbledon in 2023.

It is a second blow for Berrettini in Paris this year. In June, he retired in tears from his Roland-Garros quarter-final against compatriot Matteo Arnaldi, trailing 5-7, 2-5 with an apparent hip injury, in his first run at the tournament in five years. “I’m so tired of it,” he said afterwards.

Alcaraz back in the Paris quarter-finals

Alcaraz, the World No. 3, beat Alex Michelsen 7-6 (4), 6-3 in his opening match on Wednesday, after a first-round bye. He arrived in Paris after winning his fourth title of the season in Vienna, where he beat Alex de Minaur in the final.

The quarter-finals are his best result in Paris: the Spaniard has never gone beyond that stage at the tournament. “I’m pretty sure at some point I will do great in this tournament,” he said on Monday, adding that “it will happen sooner than later.”

He will face the winner of Thursday’s night match between sixth seed Arthur Fils and eleventh seed Taylor Fritz on Friday.