Alcaraz won't support Djokovic's lawsuit

Spaniard says he has mixed opinions about the way sport is run

MIAMI GARDENS:

Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz pushed back on a lawsuit against the ATP Tour filed by the Novak Djokovic-led tennis players union on Wednesday, saying he does not support the move.

The Spaniard world number three, speaking ahead of the Miami Open, said he had not been given any notice of the legal case from the Professional Tennis Players' Association (PTPA) or the strongly-worded statement issued on Tuesday.

"Honestly, it was surprising for me, because nobody told me nothing about it, so I was just, yesterday, I saw in the social media," Alcaraz said.

The PTPA filing cites an Alcaraz quote from a press conference in which he criticised the tour schedule and the player said he was not aware of that decision.

"I saw that there were some statements that they put something that I said in press conference, which I didn't know. I don't support that letter, that, I don't support that, because, as I said, I didn't know anything about it," he added.

Alcaraz said he had mixed opinions about the nature of the complaint which is a wide-ranging critique of the way the sport is run by the ATP and the WTA Tour.

"There are some things that I agree with, there are some other things that I'm not agreeing with, but the main thing here is that I'm not supporting that, so that's it," he said.

The PTPA was set up by Djokovic and Canada's Vasek Pospisil in 2020. Some 20 players were named as part of at least one of the actions.

"The lawsuits expose systemic abuse, anti-competitive practises, and a blatant disregard for player welfare that have persisted for decades," said the PTPA statement.

"The ATP, WTA, ITF, and ITIA operate as a cartel by implementing a number of draconian, interlocking anti-competitive restraints and abusive practises."

The ATP and WTA, along with the International Tennis Federation and the tennis integrity body ITIA, all defended themselves against the claim and rejected the charges.

Kyrgios gets much needed boost with first win since 2022

Australian Nick Kyrgios won his first match since 2022 as he fought back from a set down to beat American Mackenzie McDonald 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 at the Miami Open on Wednesday.

Kyrgios's career has been blighted by injuries in the last two years and he had to retire from his first round match at Indian Wells earlier this month.

The flamboyant 29-year-old had suffered pain in his surgically reconstructed right wrist - a procedure that left him on the sidelines for 18 months.

"It has been a long journey, even to just get to the start line of matches and be scared to just finish them," Kyrgios said.

"To come off and get a win and feel like I belong again was special," added after the one-hour, 43-minute victory.

Kyrgios, the 2022 Wimbledon finalist, has been plagued by injuries in his career but it was the wrist which caused him the most serious issues and he said he was deeply pessimistic about his chances of a comeback.

"I never thought I would play tennis again to be brutally honest with you. I was having conversations with my camp and my team, and I said 'I don't know how long I can keep doing this for'," he said.

"This (win) puts some petrol in the tank but I need to be realistic and see how my wrist feels tomorrow because it is a grind out here," he added.

There was a first round win for 38-year-old Frenchman Gael Monfils who became the second oldest man, after Jimmy Connors, to win at the Miami Open.

Monfils beat last year's quarter-finalist, Hungary's Fabian Marozsan, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.

In the women's draw, Emma Raducanu claimed her first win, defeating 19-year-old wild card Sayaka Ishii of Japan 6-2, 6-1 in just 65 minutes.

The 2021 US Open champion will face eighth-seeded American Emma Navarro in the second round, her first meeting with a top 10 player since losing to Iga Swiatek in the Australian Open third round.