Carlos Alcaraz retires just TWO GAMES into his first-round match at the Rio Open as the reigning Wimbledon champion picks up an ankle problem in Brazil

Reigning Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz departed the Rio Open on Tuesday after just two games due to a right ankle injury.

Alcaraz’s injury at 1-1 meant Brazil’s Thiago Monteiro advanced to the second round where he will be set for a matchup with Felipe Meligeni Alves for a place in the quarterfinals.

The two-time major champion Alcaraz twisted his ankle in the first game after only two points.

He received medical attention, broke Monteiro’s serve, but after the Brazilian pulled level he shook his rival’s hand and left the court walking as his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero looked concerned.

‘This is so strange, it was the second point of the match,’ Monteiro said later during a press conference.

Alcaraz appeared to injure his right ankle and received treatment from before departing

‘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.’

Alcaraz was the runner-up at the clay court tournament in Rio de Janeiro last year, and its winner in 2022.

The injury adds to Alcaraz’s below-par performances at the Argentina Open last week.

His injury allowed Thiago Monteiro to win the match and advance to the quarter finals

The 20-year-old, who won the title in 2023, was eliminated by Chile’s Nicolás Jarry in the semifinals in Buenos Aires.

Earlier, three-time major winner Stan Wawrinka was beaten 7-5, 6-4 in the first round by Argentina’s Facundo Díaz Acosta.

The 23-year-old Díaz Acosta beat Jarry in the final to win his first title on Sunday at the Argentina Open.

Tuesday’s match was delayed for almost two hours due to rain in Rio de Janeiro. Diaz Acosta’s next opponent will be his compatriot Sebastián Báez.