Watch: Carlos Alcaraz shares his umbrella with ball kids in a heartwarming gesture at Rio Open 2022

Carlos Alcaraz won the hearts of fans at the 2022 Rio Open on Thursday, as he invited a couple of ball kids to share his umbrella when the skies opened up. The Spaniard was leading the first set 5-4 in his second-round match against Federico Delbonis when the match was interrupted by rain.

The World No. 29 immediately sought shelter underneath the giant protective shades that covered the players' seating area on either side of the chair umpire. Noticing that the ball kids had no such luck in escaping the downpour, the 18-year-old ushered them over to take cover alongside him.

The video, shared by Tennis TV, went viral on social media, with many users praising Alcaraz for his heartwarming gesture.

"Nice touch from Carlos Alcaraz, who didn’t want the ball boys suffering with the rain!" tennis commentator Jose Morgado tweeted. "The kids were very happy."

"I know Carlito will probably steamroll my current faves in the future, but he's such a good boi, so it's ok," another user tweeted.

The match was suspended soon afterwards as the rain showed no sign of relenting. When the action resumes on Friday, Alcaraz, who leads 30-15 in his service game, will need two more points to take the first set against Delbonis.

Carlos Alcaraz may need to play thrice on the same day at the 2022 Rio Open

Alcaraz may have to play three matches on Friday at the 2022 Rio Open

Due to the rain delay, Carlos Alcaraz may have to play thrice on Friday at the 2022 Rio Open. Based on the schedule released by the tournament for February 18, the Spaniard will resume his match against Federico Delbonis after the second-round fixture between Matteo Berrettini and Thiago Monteiro at 2:30 pm local time (5:30 pm GMT).

If Alcaraz defeats Delbonis, he is scheduled to play in the quarterfinals against either Berrettini or Monteiro later the same day. Furthermore, the Spaniard has also reached the quarterfinals in the doubles category in partnership with compatriot Pablo Carreno Busta. The all-Spanish duo will take on top seeds Horacio Zeballos and Marcel Granollers in the last match of the day.

A victory in the singles quarterfinals will pit Carlos Alcaraz against either Fabio Fognini or Federico Coria, both of whom are unseeded in the tournament. Meanwhile, a victory in the doubles quarterfinals will lead to the Alcaraz-Carreno Busta duo locking horns with either third seeds Jaime Murray and Bruno Soares or the unseeded pairing of Benoit Paire and Albert Ramos-Vinolas.