Carlos Alcaraz retires, Jannik Sinner is one step away

The condition of Carlos Alcaraz

Carlos Alcaraz’s Rio Open has è ended after only two games. Two years ago, the Spaniard had made history by becoming the youngest winner of an ATP 500 since the introduction of this category of tournaments in 2009. That record had snatched him from Jannik Sinner, who now comes close again in the rankings.

Last season, Alcaraz had lost the final to Norrie, thereby losing 300 points and reducing his lead over Sinner to only 535 points in the rankings. In Indian Wells, Alcaraz, current champion, will be able to confirm his 8,805 points at most. However, if he does not win, his maximum score would be 8,455, as the final of a Masters 1000 guarantees 650 points. Meanwhile, if Sinner were to win the title, he would reach 8,710 points, thus surpassing Alcaraz and becoming the first Italian in the history of men’s tennis to reach the Top 2.

Alcaraz thusì spoke about the event. "I felt immediate pain and realized that it would be difficult to continue if things did not improve", explained Alcaraz. After playing a few points without improvement and with difficulty in his movements, he decided it would be impossible to continue.