World number 2 Carlos Alcaraz has decided not to compete for the ATP 500 championship in Rio. Alcaraz retired from his match against Thiago Monteiro of Brazil after just two games due to an ankle injury. Fortunately, the injury is not severe, and we can anticipate seeing the two-time Major champion back on the court at Indian Wells.
In the opening game of the match, Alcaraz managed to break Monteiro’s serve. However, he lost his own serve in the second game, allowing his opponent to level the score at 1-1. Feeling the pain from his injury, the Spanish player made the difficult decision to retire from the match, ending his campaign in Rio after only ten minutes. As a result, Carlos lost 300 ATP points and now trails world number 1 Novak Djokovic by over 1000 points.
A year ago, Alcaraz had a chance to compete for the title in Rio. He was leading 7-5, 3-0 against Cameron Norrie before ultimately losing in a grueling two-hour and forty-one-minute battle. Despite injuring his left leg during the match, the Spaniard fought until the very end, only to lose in the final stages of the deciding set.
In an effort to conserve energy and minimize his movement, Carlos took risks with his shots, going for all-or-nothing plays. He came close to forcing a deciding tiebreak but was ultimately broken by Norrie in the 11th game, sealing his defeat. The British player hit 26 service winners and displayed excellent control over his shots, recording the same number of winners and unforced errors. Alcaraz managed to break his opponent’s serve five times out of nine opportunities but was broken six times out of 16 chances presented to Norrie.
Despite facing three break points in the eighth game of the first set and saving a set point in the tenth game, the left-handed Alcaraz remained resilient. He pushed hard on his return in the sixth game and landed two winners, successfully stealing his rival’s serve and securing the set.
In the second set, the Spaniard continued his strong performance, breaking Norrie’s serve in the second game and establishing a commanding 7-5, 3-0 lead. However, Norrie managed to hold his serve from 0-30 down in the fourth game and subsequently broke Alcaraz’s serve in the fifth game, improving his chances of victory.
Carlos struggled with the pain in his leg, which affected his movement on the court. He managed to break back in the eighth game but then lost his serve for the third consecutive time, finding himself trailing 5-4. Norrie closed out the set with an ace in the tenth game, leveling the match and becoming the favorite heading into the decisive set.
Despite the challenges, the young Alcaraz continued to fight. He broke early in the final set, taking a 2-0 lead. However, Norrie responded by breaking back in the third game and securing another break in the fourth game to take the lead. Carlos managed to erase the deficit in the sixth game, giving his all to stay in the match.
In the ninth game, despite his limited mobility, the Spaniard defended two break points and held his serve to take a 5-4 lead, hoping for a late break to turn the tide in his favor. Unfortunately, Norrie capitalized on his fourth break point opportunity in the 11th game, moving ahead 6-5 and eventually sealing the victory with an ace on his second match point in the 12th game. This marked Norrie’s first ATP 500 title, while Alcaraz was left disappointed.
According to the Source tennisworldusa.org