As Carlos Alcaraz slipped to a shock defeat against Gaël Monfils in the second round of the Cincinnati Open, he became so frustrated that he smashed his racket against the court several times, bending the frame out of shape while the crowd looked on stunned.
The moment came as Monfils consolidated a break in the third set shortly before he completed a 4-6 7-6 (5) 6-4 victory over the 21-year-old on Friday.
Alcaraz apologized for smashing his racket in an Instagram post-Saturday.
“I want to apologize for my attitude yesterday, it was not good and that should not happen on court,” the world No. 3 said.
“I’m human, the nerves had accumulated and sometimes it’s very tough to control when there is that tension. I will work so that it doesn’t happen again. Now it’s time to think about NYC!”
In his press conference after the match, Alcaraz had described it as a momentary loss of control during the “worst match that I ever played in my career.”
But it was Alcaraz who had enjoyed the better start to the match, and who initially seemed to be headed to a hard-fought victory when rain stopped play on Thursday night in the middle of a second set tiebreak with the four-time grand slam winner leading 6-4 6-6 (1-3).
Monfils wrapped up the second set shortly after play resumed on Friday, however, and went on to win the decider, saving all four of the break points he faced.
Monfils had to return to the court later on the same day for his third round match against Holger Rune where he was defeated 3-6 6-3 6-4.
