August 17th 2024.
At the Cincinnati Open, tennis prodigy and reigning Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz had a moment of frustration on the court. In a rare outburst, he smashed his racket, admitting that he had lost control. Alcaraz is known as one of the top players in the world, with some even comparing him to the likes of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer.
In July, Alcaraz made history by winning the Wimbledon title for the second consecutive year, becoming only the second man in the Open Era to win his first four major singles finals. However, in the Olympic singles gold medal match at Paris 2024, he suffered a painful defeat at the hands of Djokovic. Now, he is preparing for the upcoming US Open.
During his recent match at Cincinnati, Alcaraz faced off against Gael Monfils and unexpectedly lost. After Monfils, ranked 46th in the world, secured a 4-6 7-6 6-4 victory, Alcaraz, ranked 3rd, spoke about his uncharacteristic on-court meltdown. He said, "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."
Alcaraz went on to explain that he usually has a good handle on his emotions during matches, but this time was different. "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," he said. "Today, I couldn’t control myself, because, as I said, I was feeling that I was not playing any kind of tennis."
He also acknowledged that it is not uncommon for players to struggle with controlling their emotions during certain moments in their careers. "I think some players, a lot of players, during their careers and during certain moments, they can’t control themselves. And it was one of the moments for me," he said.
Alcaraz admitted that it was his worst performance yet, saying, "I felt like it was the worst match that I ever played in my career. [I] couldn’t play." He added that he had been practicing well leading up to the match, so he was surprised by his sudden lack of control. "Honestly, I’ve been practising really well here in this tournament. The previous days, I was feeling great, hitting the ball clear, moving well. I don’t know what happened."
As for the reason behind his outburst, Alcaraz said, "I don’t know how I felt like this, but I couldn’t control myself. I couldn’t be better. So this match, it was impossible to win." Despite the disappointing loss, Alcaraz remains determined to bounce back and continue his success on the court.
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