Carlos Alcaraz has admitted to being ‘scared’ after hurting himself during his Japan Open showdown with Sebastian Baez. The young Spaniard won in straight sets to reach the next round but had to overcome some difficulties on his way to victory. Early in the first set, he appeared to roll his ankle and fell down to the ground in pain.
Alcaraz received immediate treatment on the court before getting up and hobbling to his chair. A physio strapped up his injured ankle and he was able to continue after telling his team that he would be fine. A few games later, Alcaraz was involved in a confrontation with members of his support group during another break in play.
Both parties seemed agitated and Alcaraz was heard discussing his injury in Spanish, saying: “I feel it. In some situations, no, but in others, it hurts me.”
At that point, the match was suspended due to rain, but officials quickly closed the roof and it was able to continue a few minutes later.
Quizzed on his injury scare after the match, he said: “I was scared, I’m not going to lie. When I rolled my ankle I was worried, to be honest, because it didn’t feel good at the beginning.
“I’m just happy that I was able to play ater that, playing such good tennis and finishing the match like this, quite good. Let’s see.
“The next day I will try and recover, to do whatever it takes to be ready for the next round and try to play. I have a good enough level to compete in the next round, but [the injury scare] was bad and unlucky.”
Alcaraz will be hoping to make a full recovery in time for his next match, which will see him go up against Belgian rival Zizou Bergs.
It came just days after John McEnroe heaped major praise on the Spaniard by describing him as the best player he has ever seen at his age.
Speaking last week, the American said: “You get Roger [Federer], Rafa [Nadal] and Novak [Djokovic] and you’re like: ‘I’m looking at the three greatest players that ever lived’.
“And suddenly, somehow, along comes this other guy from Spain. I remember seeing him, he was probably 17: ‘Hey, this guy’s got some talent. That guy is pretty quick out there’.
“Never in my wildest dreams… I’ll tell you, of all the players I’ve ever watched, at this age, I’ve never seen a player this good, this complete the last two or three years.”
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Content Source: www.express.co.uk