Australian Open marathon men Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Jack Draper break down in fourth round

Marathon men Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Jack Draper have broken down in their respective fourth-round matches at the Australian Open on Sunday.

Davidovich Fokina fought back from two sets to love down in his second and third-round matches while Draper went to five sets in all three of his matches so far — but the efforts proved too much for their bodies.

Davidovich Fokina was hurt in the first set of his clash with Tommy Paul yet he refused to retire from their clash on Margaret Court Arena.

Paul went on to win 6-1 6-1 6-1 in a shade under 90 minutes, with the American 12th seed paying tribute to his Spanish opponent afterwards.

“What he did is unreal. Coming back from two sets to love down twice is amazing,” Paul said.

“He deserves a round of applause and respect from me for staying out here today.”

Not long after, over on Rod Laver Arena, Draper’s troubled pre-season with a hip injury and his hard-fought week in Melbourne took its toll.

He took the fight to third seed Carlos Alcaraz in the first set but fell off in the second and promptly retired down 5-7 1-6.

Alcaraz applauded Draper as the 15th seed packed his bags and encouraged the crowd to join in.

“It’s not the way that I want to win matches,” Alcaraz said.

“Happy to play another quarter-final but a little bit sad for Jack. He’s a really nice person, he doesn’t deserve to get injured.

“He couldn’t prepare at the start of the season well because of an injury, I’m just a little bit sad. I’m pretty sure he’s going to come back stronger, he always does. I just want to wish him a speedy recovery.”

Following the interview Alcaraz sent another message of support to Draper when he signed the camera lens.

“You will be where you deserved. Get well soon, Jack!” he wrote, with a sad face underneath.

Alcaraz will next face 10-time champion Novak Djokovic or underdog Jiri Lehecka in the quarter-finals.

Paul, who made the semi-finals in 2023, will play 14th seed Ugo Humbert or second seed Alexander Zverev in the last eight.