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Two-time major champion Carlos Alcaraz has withdrawn from the 2024 Rio Open after sustaining an ankle injury on Tuesday, according to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN).
Alcaraz twisted his right ankle in the first set of Tuesday’s Round of 32 match against Brazil’s Thiago Monteiro and continued to play after receiving medical attention before ultimately being pulled from the match just two points in.
“It was the second point of the match,” Monteiro said. “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.”
ATP Tour @atptour
Feel better soon and come back stronger 🫶@carlosalcaraz retires in Rio while facing Thiago Monteiro. @RioOpenOficial | #RioOpen10Anos pic.twitter.com/sYBDAGqLYq
Alcaraz was the runner-up in Rio de Janeiro last year and was the winner at the clay court tournament in 2022.
It has been a disappointing start to 2024 for the 20-year-old, and the ankle injury comes after he suffered a disappointing semifinal loss to Nicolas Jarry at the Argentina Open last week.
Alcaraz opened up 2024 with a run to the quarterfinals at the Australian Open, but he fell to Alexander Zverev.
The Spaniard hasn’t made a final at a tournament since the Cincinnati Masters in August and he hasn’t won a tournament since defeating Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon in July.
After recovering from his ankle injury, Alcaraz will begin gearing up for the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells in March, followed by the Miami Open. The next major tournament on the ATP Tour is the French Open at Roland Garros, which begins in May.
Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, known as the “King of Clay,” have dominated at Roland Garros over the last two decades. Djokovic has won the tournament three times and Nadal has won 14 times.
The last person not named Djokovic or Nadal to win the French Open was Stan Wawrinka, who won in 2015. Alcaraz will be hoping to capture his third major title at Roland Garros this year, provided he’s healthy.
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