Jannik Sinner's hip injury has been the topic of his 2024 Madrid Open campaign so far, and it could also see him withdraw from the tournament.
The Italian player entered the Madrid Open as the top seed, his first at an ATP Masters 1000 level. He's handled that status really well so far, winning his first two matches easily, and also fighting past Karen Khachanov.
However, it wasn't so much about his play, but about his fitness, as during his win over Pavel Kotov, Sinner experienced a discomfort in hip area, which has been limiting him in both his third-round and also his fourth-round match.
He had to decide about his participation in the fourth-round match quite late, working with his physio until late night to be ready for the match against Khachanov, which he ultimately ended up playing, and winning.
However, after his win, the 22-year-old admitted that he may not play in the quarter-final, which will be a match against Felix Auger-Aliassime, when he assesses that his body won't allow him to do that.
"I decided to play today after warming up. Yesterday I went to bed late working with my physio to get ready. It was a long night. We'll see how I feel tomorrow after playing more than two hours today. If it gets worse, I'll think about it (being in the quarterfinals). If I can, I will play, if not, I won't. Tomorrow I will decide."
After the Madrid Open, players will move to Rome, where the Italian Open will take place, and as the only ATP Masters 1000 tournament on his home soil, the Italian Open is very important for Sinner.
Of course, he will mainly want to prioritize the French Open, which is the Grand Slam tournament, so it wouldn't be a surprise if he made the decision to skip his quarter-final match in Madrid in order to be healthy and ready for matches that he may view as more important.
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