Alcaraz confident of defending Indian Wells title despite ankle injury

New Delhi, Feb 22 (IANS) Carlos Alcaraz expects to be fit to defend his title at the Paribas Open in Indian Wells next month as the Spaniard shared an injury update on his social media.

Alcaraz rolled his right ankle just two points into his Rio de Janeiro opener against Thiago Monteiro Tuesday night and retired after two games.

"I just had an MRI on my ankle after yesterday's injury. After the meeting with my doctor @drlopezmartinez and my physiotherapists @juanjo_moreno_m and @sergiokine the diagnosis is a grade II lateral sprain. I have a sprain that will keep me out for a few days! See you in Las Vegas and Indian Wells!" the former World No. 1 in the wrote in his social media post.

Just two points into his match against Monteiro late on Tuesday night, Alcaraz was moving laterally back towards the centre of the court after returning serve in the Ad court when Monteiro went back in behind him.

The Spaniard planted his right foot to halt his momentum, but his right ankle rolled badly and he fell to the ground on his backside, according to the tournament website.

With Monteiro’s help, Alcaraz made his way back to his bench and had his ankle heavily strapped by ATP physio Alejandro Resnicoff. He returned to the court and broke the Brazilian to take a 1-0 lead. But his movement was compromised and he retired after dropping serve in the next game.

With Alcaraz defending 1000 points as the reigning champion in Indian Wells, he will face a challenge from Jannik Sinner for the World No. 2 ranking.