Carlos Alcaraz exited the Cincinnati Open to Gael Monfils in the last 32 in one of the upsets of the season so far. But even that wasn’t the main talking point, after the Spaniard lost his cool in the deciding set, smashing his racquet four times on the court. Later Alcaraz spoke about how he “couldn’t control” himself amid the frustration of not finding any form against the veteran Frenchman.
Carlos Alcaraz admitted he “couldn’t control” himself during his loss to Gael Monfils in Cincinnati, as the Spaniard discussed the incident that saw him smash his racquet on the court four times.
Alcaraz struggled throughout against the 37-year-old Monfils as the young star failed to secure progression in Ohio, a key warm-up event for the US Open.
In his post-match press conference, Alcaraz opened up on the incident that occurred in the third set after he had gone 3-1 down.
The Spaniard said: “I felt sometimes that I wanted to break the racquet. It never happened before, because I could control myself in those situations, in those feelings, and most of the time I could control myself, and it could go better in the matches or in the situation that I’ve been feeling before.
“[This time] I couldn’t control myself because, as I said, I was feeling that I was not playing any kind of tennis. So, it was really frustrating for me.
“There is some point that I want to left [leave] the court. I don’t want to be on the court anymore.
“So it was really hurtful moment for me, and that’s it. I think some players or a lot of players during their careers and during some certain moments, they can’t control themselves, and it was one of those moments for me.”
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Alcaraz suggested the Centre Court surface at the Cincinnati venue was one of the reasons why he found it so hard to get any rhythm.
He said: “It was really, really tough for me. I felt like it was the worst match that I’ve ever played in my career. Couldn’t play, honestly.
“I’ve been practising really well here in this tournament. The previous days, I was feeling great, hitting the ball clear, you know, moving well.
“Probably I felt like it was another sport playing on the Centre Court [than] on the other courts. The balls were faster on the Centre Court bounced much, much, more than other courts.
“I warmed up before the match and, yes, it was a totally different feeling. I don’t know why. And, yeah, honestly, I don’t know, I don’t know what happened.
“I don’t know how I felt like this way, but, honestly, I couldn’t control myself. I couldn’t be better. So, this match it was impossible to win, and that’s all.”
The US Open starts on August 26 at Flushing Meadows, New York.
