Carlos Alcaraz reveals ‘it was impossible to continue’ after retirement
Carlos Alcaraz suffered an ankle injury at the Rio Open yesterday, forcing the Spaniard to retire from his first round match after only two games.
Alcaraz was looking to regain the title in Brazil, after being beaten in the final by Cameron Norrie last year.
However, things did not get off to a promising start when he appeared to twist his ankle in only the second point against home favourite Thiago Monteiro.
The 20-year-old opted to continue, and actually broke the Monteiro serve, but after being broken straight back Alcaraz decided to call it a day.
Wishing @CarlosAlcaraz a speedy recovery ???????? pic.twitter.com/bvQzoC4Uw6
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) February 21, 2024
And Alcaraz has now revealed the pain he felt on court, “Tomorrow I’ll have a test for my ankle and let’s see if it’s something serious or not.”
The Wimbledon champion continued, “I felt bad. That was the first impression I had. I was feeling pain once I fell down, so I thought it was going to be difficult to continue if I was still having those feelings.
“After a few points it didn’t feel better. I couldn’t move well and I knew that it was going to be impossible to continue. I thought it was going to get worse if I kept playing for such a long match and that’s why I chose to retire.”
Alcaraz is next set to compete in a Netflix special exhibition match against Rafael Nadal on 3rd March, before bidding to defend his Indian Wells crown.
???? 4 weeks away from Vegas! Can’t wait to share the court with the legend, @RafaelNadal! ???? #TheNetflixSlam
VIP Packages: https://t.co/zT8O9M7VQA pic.twitter.com/yYEXmFaxKY
— Carlos Alcaraz (@carlosalcaraz) February 2, 2024
The world No.2 appears confident about his chances of recovering in the next couple of weeks, “I hope to be ready for the match. And I will work to be ready. But I don’t know yet. That’s the truth.
“The physio told me that they think that it’s not serious. So I think I have time to recover and be ready for that match. But, you know, you never know. So let’s see.”
Inside the baseline…
It has not been the strongest start to the season for Carlos Alcaraz in relative terms, especially in this South American clay court swing where he appeared to be the big favourite. However, there is nothing he could have done about twisting his ankle yesterday, as it is just one of those things that can happen with all the lateral movement you have to do on a tennis court. Hopefully like Alcaraz said it is not too serious and he can start to pick up form at the sunshine double.
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