Carlos Alcaraz apologises for breaking racquet and unlikely on-court behaviour: 'I am human'

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Carlos Alcaraz has issued an apology for losing his cool and breaking his racquet by smashing it several times on the court during his Cincinnati Open match against French Gael Monfils on Friday, August 16.

During the third set of the Round of 32 match, Alcaraz destroyed his racquet and threw it away in disdain in a rare show of frustration. Alcaraz, who was recently in tears after losing the Paris Olympics gold medal match against Novak Djokovic, lost the match to 37-year-old Monfils after winning the first set.

Gael Monfils, who is ranked 46th in world, won the second set after prevailing in the tie-breaker, and then clinched the third set to beat the four-time grand slam champion 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4. He became the second oldest ATP player to earn a Top-3 win this century

"I am human, I had a lot of nerves inside and sometimes it is very difficult to control yourself when your heart rate is so high," he wrote. "I will work so that it does not happen again," the 21-year-old wrote on X.

The match between Alcaraz and Monfils was interrupted by rain on Thursday. Alcaraz was training 3-1 in the tie-breaker when the play resumed, and was hoping to hit the reset button. But experienced Monfils took the final two sets with ease, leaving Alcaraz frustrated in 'the worst match of his career'.

"It never happened before because I could control those feelings. Today I couldn't. I was feeling that I was not playing any kind of tennis. It was really frustrating for me. At some point, I didn't want to be on the court anymore," Alcaraz said.

“It was the worst match that I ever played in my career. I couldn’t play. I came here thinking I’m going to feel good. I’m going to put in a good tennis, because I know how to play on this court," the world number three, who has won the French Open and Wimbledon title this year, said.

The US Open begins in New York on August 26.