Jack Draper will miss the grass-court season due to a shoulder injury.

The British lefty was forced to retire from his first-round match against Tomas Martin Etcheverry at Roland Garros last week and announced on social media on Thursday that he is set for a period out.

“It’s clear my shoulder is going to need time and rehab to get back to where it needs to be,” Draper wrote on Instagram. “My team and I have made the difficult decision to miss the grass court season this year. I guess in this sport there are so many ups and downs but this one is tough to take. The only thing for sure is that I will keep persevering. Thank you for all the support I get on here it means a lot…”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jack Draper (@jackdraper)

The 21-year-old Draper held a 5-3 record on grass last season, with his best result a run to the semi-finals in Eastbourne.

Editor’s note: This story was translated from ATPTour.com/es.

With a two-day break before facing Novak Djokovic on Friday in the semi-finals at Roland Garros, Carlos Alcaraz practised for 45 minutes with one eye on his clash with the Serbian, but mainly focusing on giving his body some oxygen after beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarter-finals.

In the company of his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, the World No. 1 completed his training session and then spent almost half an hour signing autographs and taking photos with the fans that had turned out to watch him practise. Earlier, Ferrero spoke about the encounter with Djokovic.

“It’s very good that he’s looking forward to the match,” Ferrero said. “Often you can get nervous and try to put certain situations off because of the difficulties that may be entailed. Looking forward to it is positive. Over these two days he’ll try to relax, recover a bit and get to 100%. As always, he needs to be mentally fresh. Nothing more.”

That was exactly what Alcaraz did on Wednesday; rest, practise and disconnect in the afternoon, taking the opportunity to recover physically and mentally before taking on this huge challenge.

“Novak is one of the best of all time,” Ferrero reiterated. “Obviously he’s going to make a match of it. These types of players find solutions where others don’t. He will study the match, he knows how Carlos plays and he will come out with a tactic to compete. In terms of attitude, I don’t think he will give in at any point. Carlos’ speed is very, very good. If he can maintain that and dominate the match, he will have his chances to come out on top. Djokovic has shown a million times that he is capable of turning impossible matches around. We’re expecting an extremely tough match.”

Alcaraz and Djokovic have only crossed swords once before, at last year’s Mutua Madrid Open, where the Spaniard took the spoils after a third-set tiebreak.

“He’s improving every year”, said Ferrero. “Playing in these kinds of matches makes you mature very quickly. Every time a match like this comes along, he has to be unfazed and go for it. We’re happy to be able to have another experience against one of the best in history. Win or lose, I’m sure it will make him grow. It will be positive. Often, you learn more from the defeats than you do from victories.”

Without Rafael Nadal in the tournament, Djokovic is surely the biggest challenge anyone can face in Paris. The Serbian will be even more dangerous since he is bidding to become the player with the most major titles in history. He currently sits alongside Rafael Nadal, with 22 apiece.

“We’re doing very well on clay and he’s been doing very well for 20 years,” acknowledged Ferrero. “It’s not the time to pick a favourite. They’re both in great form. Novak is battling to make history and Carlos to reach his second Grand Slam final. They are different goals, but very important ones for both of them.

“Djokovic’s game has everything. He often grows into it, and by the end of the tournament he is playing very well. We’re expecting his A-game. We’ve seen so many times how well he can play when that’s the case,” said Ferrero, who is also aware of just how far Alcaraz can go.

“I’ve been with him for five years and I know how good he can be,” explained the No. 1’s coach. “The most impressive thing is that he produces that level at the most important times and against the best. He’s progressed very quickly. He’s ready to do great things in tennis. Carlos dreams big and believes he can beat anyone. It’s clear that he believes in himself.

”We have to have great belief in him, but getting ahead of ourselves is a mistake for everyone. We will believe in the real possibility of winning if he gets to the final, before then is too soon.”

Twelve months ago, Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek fell just short of capturing their maiden major title together when they lost in the Roland Garros final. On Saturday, the Croatian-American tandem will have a shot at redemption.

Competing in the semi-finals on Thursday, the fourth seeds moved past 10th seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos 6-3, 7-6(3) to reach the title match at the clay-court event once again.

Dodig and Krajicek, who squandered three championship points last year, saved three second-set set points against Granollers and Zeballos, coming through the tie-break to earn victory after one hour and 54 minutes.

Dodig and Krajicek have won tour-level titles in Rotterdam and Monte-Carlo this season. They will try to add to that tally when they meet Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen in the final.

Belgians Gille and Vliegen defeated Matwe Middelkoop and Andreas Mies 6-4, 7-5 to reach their first major final as a team.

Earlier this season Gille and Vliegen captured tour-level titles in Pune and Estoril. They are up eight spots to sixth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings.

Teaming for the first time at Roland Garros, Miyu Kato and Tim Puetz completed their dream run in style on Thursday when they captured the mixed doubles title.

In a tight final, the Japanese-German team clawed past Bianca Andreescu and Michael Venus 4-6, 6-4, 10-6 to claim the crown at the clay-court major after one hour and 35 minutes.

“Miyu, it is unbelievable what has happened in the past 10 days,” Puetz said during the trophy ceremony. “I hope this helps you. I am very, very happy to win.”

Kato and Puetz held their nerve in the key moments on Court Philippe-Chatrier, saving four break points in the second set before they were the more consistent team in the Match Tie-break to triumph.

“I am so glad I have you as a partner,” Kato said to Puetz during the ceremony. “Thank you so much for always supporting me and cheering me up.”

It is a first mixed doubles title for both the 35-year-old Puetz and the 28-year-old Kato. Puetz has won seven tour-level men’s doubles titles, while Kato has clinched two WTA Tour doubles crowns.

Kato and Puetz were dominant throughout their run in Paris, not dropping a set en route to the final.