WATCH: Frustrated Carlos Alcaraz destroys his racket in anger as Spaniard crashes out to Gael Monfils in Cincinnati Open 2R
Carlos Alcaraz faced an unexpected loss in the second round of the 2024 Cincinnati Open, losing out to Gael Monfils in his opener on Friday. The loss was marked by an uncharacteristic display of anger from the Spaniard as he smashed his racket to the ground in pieces midway through the display.
Alcaraz came to Cincinnati on the back of a run to the final at the Paris Olympics, where he missed out on gold to 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic. After skipping the Canadian Open last week, Cincinnati was expected to be the warm-up tournament for the World No. 3 ahead of the US Open later this month.
Taking on Monfils, the No. 2 seed took the opening set 6-4 and appeared on course for a comfortable win. However, the Frenchman turned the tables on him, taking the second set 7-6(5) in the tiebreaker and forcing a decider. With all to play for in the third set, Alcaraz lost a break to fall 1-3 behind, which broke the floodgates in the youngster.
Immediately after getting broken, the 21-year-old took out his frustration on his racket, destroying it with multiple smashes in front of a stunned Cincinnati crowd. From there on, Monfils capitalized on the change in momentum, wrapping up the set 6-4 to reach the Round of 16.
Gael Monfils will be immediately in action again on Friday following the win against Alcaraz, and will be locking horns with Holger Rune for a spot in the quarterfinals.
Carlos Alcaraz likely to be in action next at US Open
Following his loss at the Cincinnati Open to Gael Monfils, Carlos Alcaraz is likely to be in action next at the 2024 US Open. The Spaniard, in that case, will be arriving at Flushing Meadows painfully short on match practice, having played only one match on the North American hardcourt swing in the lead-up to the final Grand Slam of the season.
Alcaraz is a former winner at the US Open, having beaten Casper Ruud in the final of the 2022 edition to win his maiden Major title. Last year, the four-time Grand Slam champion reached the semifinals, beating Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals before losing to former World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev.
In 2024, Novak Djokovic will be the defending champion at the tournament. The Serb, like Alcaraz, will be short of practice, and will likely show up at the US Open with no matches on hardcourts and straight from his gold medal win at the Paris Olympics.