Carlos Alcaraz injures ankle, exits Rio Open after 2 games - ESPN

RIO DE JANEIRO — Two-time major winner Carlos Alcaraz retired hurt from the Rio Open on Tuesday after two games due to a right ankle injury.

The retirement at 1-1 meant Brazil's Thiago Monteiro advanced to the second round. He will face his compatriot Felipe Meligeni Alves for a place in the quarterfinals.

Alcaraz twisted his ankle in the first game after only two points. He received medical attention, broke Monteiro's serve, but after the Brazilian pulled level he shook his rival's hand and left the court walking as his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero looked concerned.

The Spanish player said his doctors said the injury was not serious.

«These things happen, even more so on clay,» Alcaraz said, «It was not a problem of the court, I got injured as I switched direction. That happens in this kind of surface.»

Alcaraz said he does feel pain when he walks and that he will have medical scans on Wednesday.

«I came back to the game to see whether I could carry on or not. I spoke to the physio on the court and we decided together I should continue to see if this would get better. It didn't happen, so we chose to be careful and abandon due to precaution,» he said.

Monteiro said it was strange to go through after playing so little time against Alcaraz.

«On the court it didn't look so serious, but then I saw it in the big screen and it was a bad twist. Now I can only cheer for him to recover, he is a star, a dominant one in the new generation,» the Brazilian said.

Alcaraz was the runner-up at the clay court tournament in Rio de Janeiro last year, and its winner in 2022.

The injury adds to Alcaraz's below-par performances at the Argentina Open last week. The 20-year-old, who won the title in 2023, was eliminated by Chile's Nicolas Jarry