Carlos Alcaraz
had played just two points in the match against Brazilian
Thiago Monteiro
in the first round of the
ATP 500 in Rio
when, while trying to slide on the brick dust, he twisted his right ankle.
The postcard of the Murcian sitting on the court, holding his head and with the pain reflected on his face generated concern, especially because in the next game, with his foot very swollen, he ended up retiring.
This Wednesday, the world number two confirmed the severity of his injury and cleared up doubts about what will happen with the
Netflix Slam
, the exhibition that he had to play on March 3 with
Rafael Nadal
in Las Vegas.
"I just had an MRI on my ankle, after yesterday's injury. The diagnosis is a grade II lateral sprain, which will keep me up for a few days," he said on his social networks.
And he closed: "See you in Las Vegas and Indian Wells!"
The Spaniard, then, will have eleven days to recover and arrive without physical problems to the match with
Rafa
, which will be played at the
Michelob ULTRA Arena
of the
Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
in "Sin City" and which will be the first sporting event to be held. will broadcast live on the American streaming platform.
Carlitos also confirmed his presence at the
Indian Wells Masters 1000
, the first tournament of that category of the season, which will be played from March 6 to 17.
And then he would travel to
Miami
, the next event at that level, from March 20 to 31.
This way he will not have to modify his schedule due to the injury.
đđ»!
I just had an MRI on my ankle after yesterday's injury, and I have a grade II lateral sprain that will keep me out of work for a few days... See you in Las Vegas and Indian Wells!
đșđžđđ»
đž Getty pic.twitter.com/NCux3nDpG5
â Carlos Alcaraz (@carlosalcaraz) February 21, 2024
In the Californian desert, Alcaraz will seek to defend the title he won last year, by beating Russian
Daniil Medvedev
in the final , and turn around a start to the season that was not as expected.
After falling in the quarterfinals of the
Australian Open
against the German
Alexander Zverev
;
The Murcian enthusiastically faced the South American clay tour, in which in 2023 he was champion in Buenos Aires and finalist in Rio (with victory and defeat against
Cameron Norrie
, respectively).
But he couldn't repeat those great performances.
He said goodbye to the
Argentina Open
in the semis, after losing to the Chilean
NicolĂĄs Jarry
and with the feeling that he was playing good tennis, but "very far from my real level."
And in the Rio competition, he barely lasted two games.
With the score 15-15, Alcaraz tried to slide to go for a cross drive from Monteiro, but his right leg got stuck and he sprained his right ankle.
He received attention from one of the tournament's doctors, who strongly supported the affected area, and attempted to continue playing.
The moment of Alcaraz's fall just two points into the match.
đ„#RĂo pic.twitter.com/7rOXnif2Xb
â ESPN Tennis (@ESPNtenis) February 21, 2024
He got a break in that first game to go ahead 1-0, but you could tell he was trying to finish the points in two or three shots.
He was not in a position to make large trips.
And after the Brazilian recovered the break for 1-1, Carlitos said enough.
"My first impression was that it was very bad. I was in a lot of pain when I fell. I thought it was going to be difficult to continue playing if the pain didn't go down. I continued to see how I felt, but it didn't get better, I couldn't move well and I gave out. "I realize that it was going to be impossible to continue in the game without pain. And that it could aggravate the injury. The physio told me that it didn't seem like something very serious, but you never know," he had said after the game.
Those words and the image of his very swollen ankle made him think that the injury was very serious and that it would be difficult for him to play the exhibition against Nadal.
But it seems that the little more than a week until that appointment will be enough for him to recover.
And both
Netflix
and its fans breathe easy.