World No. 3 tennis star and Wimbledon men’s singles champion Carlos Alcaraz let his emotions get the best of him at the Cincinnati Open – the last ATP event before the US Open in New York.
Alcaraz’s match against Gael Monfils had been delayed after rain swept through southern Ohio on Thursday but picked back up on Friday afternoon.
After winning the first set 6-4, Alcaraz lost a second-set tiebreak to force a decisive third set.
Down 2-1 in the final set, Monfils held serve – causing Alcaraz to go berserk and smash his racket on the court multiple times.
That led to a code violation for racket abuse and served as a point in the match from which the Spaniard could not recover.
Carlos Alcaraz smashes his racket during his match against Frenchman Gael Monfils
This was the ninth time in Monfils’ career that he was able to defeat a top-three opponent
When it was all said and done, the unseeded Monfils knocked off second-seeded Alcaraz 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4.
Monfils, ranked No. 46 in the world, defeated a top-three opponent for the ninth time in his career — the most recent a victory over then-No. 1 Daniil Medvedev in March 2022 in Indian Wells, Calif.
Until Friday he was winless against Alcaraz, 21, who won the French Open and Wimbledon this year and earned a silver medal at the Paris Olympics earlier this month. Alcaraz had lost only seven matches this year.
Monfils didn’t let Alcaraz’s overnight advantage get in his way to victory. He finished with 15 aces and 30 winners to counter 35 unforced errors and 12 double faults in windy conditions.
Neither player had much success breaking serves, with Monfils converting 1 of 8 and Alcaraz 1 of 7.
When Monfils clinched the match lasting two hours and 30 minutes (over two days), he became the second-oldest player to beat a top-three opponent this century. Roger Federer, at 38, defeated World No. 2 Novak Djokovic at the Nitto ATP Finals in 2019.
Monfils wasn’t done for the day, as the delay meant he was scheduled to face 15th seed Holger Rune of Denmark in the third round.
