Berrettini withdraws with arm pain, Alcaraz into Paris quarter-finals

The most anticipated night session of the week at the Rolex Paris Masters will not take place. Matteo Berrettini withdrew from his third-round match against Carlos Alcaraz on Thursday because of arm pain, sending the Spaniard into the quarter-finals at the Plenitude Arena in Nanterre without hitting a ball.

The Italian announced the decision himself on Instagram, a few hours before he was due on court. "Hi everyone, unfortunately the pain in my arm that I have been carrying for a few days will not allow me to take the court tonight," Berrettini wrote. "In the coming days I will do all the necessary tests to better understand what it is." He did not say which arm was affected.

A promising week cut short

The withdrawal ends what had been one of Berrettini's most encouraging weeks of the autumn. Ranked No. 43, the former Wimbledon finalist arrived in Paris without a single win at the event in his career. He broke that duck in the first round by saving two match points against Brandon Nakashima, then followed up with a 7-6(3), 7-5 victory over home favourite Ugo Humbert in one hour and 46 minutes.

That second win had set up a meeting with the world No. 3 that had been billed as the headline match of Thursday’s night session. Instead, the 30-year-old now faces medical tests, and there is no indication yet of how long he could be sidelined. With the ATP season nearly over, the timing at least gives him the off-season to recover if the problem proves minor.

Alcaraz rested for the business end

For Alcaraz, the walkover comes at a convenient moment. The second seed arrived in Paris fresh from his first title in Vienna, where he beat Alex de Minaur in the final, and has now reached the last eight without having to play a third-round match. Reaching the quarter-finals equals his best result at the Paris Masters, according to Tennis Majors.

The extra day off matters in a draw that has already lost several big names. On Wednesday, world No. 1 Alexander Zverev, Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev, De Minaur and Frances Tiafoe all fell, leaving Alcaraz as one of the clear favourites for the title in the final Masters 1000 of the year.

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Fils or Fritz next

Alcaraz's quarter-final opponent will come from Thursday's evening meeting between sixth seed Arthur Fils and No. 11 seed Taylor Fritz. Fils has already secured his place at the ATP Finals in Turin and will have the home crowd behind him, while Fritz still has an outside chance of qualifying for the season finale and needs a deep run in Paris to keep that hope alive.

The organisers had moved Fils-Fritz to a 7 p.m. start, a match now carrying added weight: the winner not only stays in the Race to Turin picture but earns a quarter-final against a rested Alcaraz on Friday. Elsewhere, the quarter-final line-up already feature an all-American clash between Ben Shelton and Tommy Paul.

For Berrettini, the next update is expected once the results of his tests are known. He had been one of the stories of the week in Paris; whether his season ends here depends on what those scans reveal.