Carlos Alcaraz is not known for on-court meltdowns. The 21-year-old tennis star usually carries himself in a professional manner, keeping his cool in tense match situations.
The current No. 3 men’s player in the world, that changed when Alcaraz grew frustrated in his second round matchup of the Cincinnati Open on Friday, smashing his racket repeatedly into the court.
Alcaraz received a code violation from the umpire for his tantrum before eventually losing the third set, and subsequently the match, to Gael Monfils, eliminating the Spaniard from the tournament.
Here is the video of Alcaraz losing his cool at the Cincinnati Open in a rare display of anger.
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Carlos Alcaraz breaks racket video
In the contest against Monfils which started Thursday night, Alcaraz took the first set before the match was rained out with Monfils leading the second set tiebreak. When play resumed Friday, Monfils eventually took set two and was ahead 2-1 in the third with an advantage on break point for the fourth game.
Monfils held on and won the point to claim a two game lead over Alcaraz when the Spaniard became visibly frustrated. Even Sky Sports commentators Jonathan Overend and Laura Robson were left in shock after Alcaraz battered his racket into the ground.
“Goodness!” former British No. 1 Robson said. “When do you see that from him? That has properly shocked me. When was the last time he broke a racket? He has melted that thing.”
“He desperately wants to win this match” 👀#CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/QkiDhvNHtw
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 16, 2024
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Carlos Alcaraz, Gael Monfils match results
Player | Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 | Final |
Gael Monfils | 4 | 7 (7) | 6 | 2 |
Carlos Alcaraz | 6 | 6 (5) | 4 | 1 |