Carlos Alcaraz rolls right ankle on second point of Rio Open match, pulls plug against Monteiro

Carlos Alcaraz’s Rio Open bid came to a sad end before it barely began Tuesday night.

On just the second point of his opening match with Thiago Monteiro, the world No. 2 awkwardly went down after moving to his right, rolling his right ankle.

As the impacted area noticeably swelled up, Alcaraz had his foot heavily taped during a medical timeout. The two-time major winner valiantly tried to play on for the packed crowd, managing to break Monteiro by winning three consecutive points. But it was evident continuing on was not in his best interest. Dropping serve, Alcaraz decided to pull the plug.

“The physio told me let’s continue a few games and let’s see what’s my feelings. After the few points in the first game and the second game, I didn’t feel better,” Alcaraz told press afterwards.

“I was feeling the pain, I couldn’t move well and I knew that it was going to be impossible to continue without pain and it was going to be worse if I still play in such a tough match or long match. That’s why I choose to retire.”

Last year, Alcaraz finished runner-up to Cameron Norrie at the 500-level event. He was coming off a semifinal loss in Buenos Aires to Nicolas Jarry.

The 20-year-old will have a little over two weeks if he is to recover for his BNP Paribas Open title defense. Alcaraz is due to play in a Las Vegas exhibition with Rafael Nadal on March 3 before heading to Indian Wells.

“I don’t know yet, that’s the truth. Tomorrow, I have the test of my ankle. Let’s see if it’s something serious or not,” he said. “The physios told me that they think it’s not too serious. They think I have time to recover and be ready for that match (referring to Netflix Slam appearance with Nadal). But you never know, so let’s see.”

Earlier, Facundo Diaz Acosta followed up his inaugural ATP title run in Buenos Aires by defeating Stan Wawrinka, 7-5, 6-4. The Argentine will look to continue his unbeaten stretch against countryman Sebastian Baez, the No. 5 seed.