By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Tuesday February 20, 2024
Carlos Alcaraz suffered an injury two points into his opening match at Rio, and retired after just two games, sending Thiago Monteiro through to the second round.
Photo Source: TTV
Carlos Alcaraz’s Rio Open 2023 appearance was cut short on Tuesday as the 20-year-old suffered a right ankle injury two points into his first-round match with Brazil’s Thiago Monteiro – he was forced to retire after just two games, losing to the World No.117 1-1 RET.
The top seed took a tumble in the backcourt during the second point of the game, and walked to his chair under his own power to receive a medical timeout. He would get the ankle taped, return to the court, and immediately break Monteiro’s serve in the first game.
His good fortunes didn’t last long however – Alcaraz was broken in the next game and quickly decided to pull the plug after ten minutes of tennis.
The good news for Alcaraz is that the injury didn’t appear to be as significant as it was originally believed. He was able to test out the ankle under his own power, and there didn’t appear to be any structural damage.
Facundo phenomenal
Facundo Diaz Acosta, the champion at the Argentina Open on Sunday, stretched his career-best winning streak to six with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Stan Wawrinka. Remarkably, the Argentinian World No.59 is now 8-1 in February. He entered the month with a 2-8 record at tour-level.
Diaz Acosta will face Sebastian Baez, who took out Corentin Moutet, 6-4, 6-3.