Bizarre scenes as Jannik Sinner, Sebastian Korda & others lead mass withdrawals at Hamburg & Geneva days ahead of French Open

Following Stefanos Tsitsipas's and Sebastian Korda's surprise withdrawal from next week's Hamburg Open, Jannik Sinner and several other players are now skipping the tournament. All four semifinalists from this week's Italian Open won't play in Germany - Sinner, Lorenzo Musetti, Tommy Paul, and Carlos Alcaraz. Holger Rune and Hamad Medjedovic will also not appear.

The withdrawals open up a wild card entry for Alexander Zverev, who assumes the position of top seed on his home turf. American young gun Frances Tiafoe, the World No. 16, becomes the second seed, with Andrey Rublev, the World No. 17, seeded three. All the players ranked from World No. 3 to World No. 15 will miss the ATP 500 tournament.

The latest withdrawals were revealed by the Entry List Updates X (formerly Twitter) account. The account also stated that Damir Dzumhuh, Daniel Altmaier, Francisco Comesana, Yunchaokete Bu, and Alexander Bublik have been added to the draw. The update ran as follows:

"Hamburg update: OUT: Sinner, Rune, Musetti, Paul, Medjedovic IN: Dzumhur, Altmaier (freeing up a WC), Comesana, Bu, Bublik Next: Rinderknech"

Of the top fifteen players in the world remaining, Taylor Fritz, ranked No. 4, and Novak Djokovic, No. 6, are playing in the ATP 250 tournament in Geneva the same week. Fritz is the top seed, and Djokovic is second.

Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, and fellow Italian Open semifinalists will rest before Paris

Six Kings Slam 2024 - Day Three - Source: Getty

It is perhaps unsurprising that Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have decided to sit out the Hamburg Open. Both have blazed a trail at this week's Italian Open and will feel that their game is in tip-top shape, ready for the year's second Major. Sinner has had a 90-day enforced absence from the game this year after his failed drug test, but his performances in Rome have suggested he's more than ready.

Sinner produced one of the finest matches of his career to breeze past the in-form Casper Ruud, 6-0, 6-1, in the quarterfinal in Italy, prompting Ruud to describe the Italian's tennis as "next-level", as reported by the Independent, Ruud said:

“Honestly, I think it was more fun than anything, even though I lost love and one. It’s like you just look at the guy and say: ‘Wow, this is kind of next-level s***.’ Excuse my language. I don’t know what else to say. It was almost fun to witness at the same time. Of course, I wish it was a closer match."

Carlos Alcaraz will also feel his clay-court game is in good shape, and he can afford to rest before the French Open. After winning in Monte Carlo and reaching the final in Barcelona, he also looked on top form when defeating Jack Draper in the quarterfinals in Italy.