- Alcaraz received treatment and tried to play despite the injury but could not
- His injury allowed Thiago Monteiro to win the match and advance to the QF
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Reigning Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz left the Rio Open on Tuesday after just two matches due to a right ankle injury.
Alcaraz’s injury at 1-1 meant that Brazilian Thiago Monteiro advanced to the second round, where he will face Felipe Meligeni Alves for a place in the quarterfinals.
Two-time major champion Alcaraz sprained his ankle in the first game after just two points.
He received medical attention, broke Monteiro’s serve, but after the Brazilian tied, he shook his rival’s hand and walked off the court while his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero seemed worried.
“This is very strange, it was the second point of the match,” Monteiro said later during a press conference.
Carlos Alcaraz left the Rio Open on Tuesday after only two matches due to injury
Alcaraz appeared to injure his right ankle and received treatment before leaving
“On the court it didn’t seem that serious, but then I saw it on the big screen and it was a bad turn.
“Now I can only encourage him to recover. He is a star, a dominant star in the new generation.”
Alcaraz was runner-up in the clay court tournament in Rio de Janeiro last year and winner in 2022.
The injury adds to Alcaraz’s poor performances at the Argentina Open last week.
His injury allowed Thiago Monteiro to win the match and advance to the quarterfinals
The 20-year-old, who won the title in 2023, was eliminated by Chilean Nicolás Jarry in the semi-finals in Buenos Aires.
Previously, three-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka was defeated 7-5, 6-4 in the first round by Argentine Facundo Díaz Acosta.
Díaz Acosta, 23, beat Jarry in the final to win his first title Sunday at the Argentina Open.
Tuesday’s game was delayed almost two hours due to rain in Rio de Janeiro. Díaz Acosta’s next rival will be his compatriot Sebastián Báez.