Carlos Alcaraz has not had the start to his first round match at the Japan Open that he would have been hoping for.
Alcaraz played at the Laver Cup last week in San Francisco, and took a long journey all the way over to make his debut in Tokyo.
The Spaniard had already made some interesting comments ahead of his first round match, with Alcaraz being asked about targeting Novak Djokovic’s Grand Slam tally.
Alcaraz also spoke about playing Jannik Sinner, despite his rival not being at the Japan Open.
All of these remarks went out of the window in Alcaraz’s first round match, as he suffered a huge scare in the early stages.
What Carlos Alcaraz was heard telling his team after injury scare at Japan Open
Alcaraz was playing Argentinian Sebastian Baez in his first ever match at the Japan Open, a player who he had beaten in both of their two previous meetings.
This head-to-head record looked to be dented within a matter of games, as Alcaraz pulled up mid-point and was seen clutching his foot.
The world number one remained on the court, where he received medical attention, before being helped to his bench to begin an official medical timeout.
Despite the initial injury appearing to be match ending for Alcaraz, he continued playing the match until the rain fell in Tokyo when he was leading 5-4.
While the umpire was making a decision about what to do regarding the rain delay, Alcaraz went over to speak to his team without Juan Carlos Ferrero, who will return at the Shanghai Masters.
In this exchange, Alcaraz was heard saying that he still felt discomfort in his foot, despite continuing to play.
Despite this, after returning to court following the closure of the roof on the Ariake Coliseum court, Alcaraz would hold serve to take the first set.
Alcaraz would then call a trainer on court between sets, but then went on to break the serve of Baez, suggesting that he was feeling okay.
Carlos Alcaraz was heard saying he took medicine even before his first round match in Tokyo
This was not the only exchange that Alcaraz was heard having on court at the Japan Open, as he was also heard making an interesting remark to the medics on court.
While receiving a medical timeout in the moments after suffering this injury, Alcaraz was asked by one of the doctors if he wanted to take any medicine.
In his response, Alcaraz revealed that he had already taken some before the match and would not require any more.
While it is unclear as to why he took this medicine before the match, it raises some questions as to whether Alcaraz had been suffering with a foot injury coming into the tournament or if the medicine was for a different issue.
Alcaraz will likely face many of these questions in the post-match press conference after his match, regardless of whether he goes on to beat Baez.
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