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Carlos Alcaraz - Shanghai Masters 2023

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Carlos Alcaraz claims he ‘couldn’t control’ himself after destroying racket in Cincinnati defeat

Matthew Johns
Matthew Johns
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Carlos Alcaraz has described his defeat to Gael Monfils in Cincinnati as ‘the worst match’ he has ever played, with the Spaniard smashing his racket in frustration during the third set.Alcaraz was beaten by the 37-year-old Frenchman, 4-6 7-6(5) 6-4, in a match that took place over two days after rain halted play during the second set tie-break on Tuesday.
One of the main talking points of the match came in the third and deciding set, when Alcaraz repeatedly smashed his racket on the court after falling 3-1 down. When speaking to press after the match, the four-time major winner revealed what led to this seemingly uncharacteristic outburst, “I felt sometimes that I wanted to break the racket. 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.” He added, “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.”
Alcaraz hit a total of 22 unforced errors in the defeat to Monfils, which was actually 13 less than his veteran opponent. And after the match, the 21-year-old suggested that the pace of the Centre Court in Cincinnati contributed to his poor performance. “It was really, really tough for me. I felt like it was the worst match that I’ve ever played in my career,” admitted Carlos Alcaraz. “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.” The World No.3 continued, “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.”
Alcaraz will now turn his attention to the
US Open, that begins on Monday 26th August, as he looks to put this defeat behind him.Inside the baseline…It was a bizarre performance from Carlos Alcaraz, who really did look out of control when destroying his racket in the deciding set. However, at the same time it was great to see Gael Monfils get such a great victory at this stage of his career, even though he did go onto lose to Holger Rune later on in the evening. Despite the disappointing defeat for Alcaraz, he will still be one of the big favourites for the US Open title as a former champion and the holder of two Grand Slam titles this year.
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