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Jannik Sinner has withdrawn from next week's Firenze Open due to an injury. The upsets came thick and fast yesterday, with reigning US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz and World No. 3 Casper Ruud losing their openers in Astana and Tokyo respectively.
Emma Raducanu played a decent match, but couldn't get past Daria Kasatkina in Ostrava. Former World No. 1 Karolina Pliskova was stunned by the 21-year-old Alycia Parks in the first round there as well. Here's a round-up of the day's headlines:
Jannik Sinner forced out of the Firenze Open due to injury
Jannik Sinner picked up an injury during last week's Sofia Open, which ended his title defense in the semifinals. He withdrew from the ongoing Astana Open and now upon his medical team's advice, is set to miss next week's Firenze Open as well. The tournament is being held in his native Italy, so he's even more disappointed with the latest turn of events.
"Frustrating to have had to retire last week. I’ve spoken with my doctor and been advised that I need to take some time off to recover. Unfortunately that means I’ll miss next weeks tournament in Florence. Time to rest & come back stronger. Thank you for all the messages" - Sinner on Twitter
Sinner's absence from the tour means his chances of qualifying for the ATP Finals have taken a hit, but he'll remain in contention upon his return.
Carlos Alcaraz crashes out in first round of Astana Open
World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz lost 7-5, 6-3 to lucky loser David Goffin in the first round of the Astana Open. This was his first straight-sets loss in 63 matches. The teenager trailed 5-2 in the opening set and fought back to make it 5-5, but got broken once again to lose the set.
Alcaraz put up some resistance in the second set as well, coming back from 5-1 down to make it 5-3, but Goffin managed to close out the proceedings at this point. The Spaniard will next compete in the Swiss Indoors unless he takes a wildcard to compete elsewhere prior to that.
Casper Ruud suffers yet another tough loss, bows out of Japan Open in first round
World No. 3 Casper Ruud lost 6-3, 6-3 to Jaume Munar in the opening round of the Japan Open. The Norwegian never really found a foothold in the match and put up a disappointing performance. Munar notched up the biggest win of his career and will face compatriot Pedro Martinez in the next round.
Daria Kasatkina ends Emma Raducanu's Ostrava challenge in first round
Fifth seed Daria Kasatkina sent Emma Raducanu packing in the first round of the Ostrava Open by defeating her 7-5, 6-4. While the Brit did play at a pretty decent level, her opponent was just better during the important moments of the match. She'll now head to Romania to compete in next week's Translyvania Open.
Karolina Pliskova loses to Alycia Parks in first round of Ostrava Open
Karolina Pliskova suffered a shock 6-0, 7-6 (3) loss to Alycia Parks in the first round. It was a disappointing performance from the former World No. 1, especially in front of her home crowd. The 21-year-old, on the other hand, kept her cool and played a great match for the biggest win of her career. She'll take on World No. 7 Maria Sakkari in the next round.
