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Carlos Alcaraz vented his frustration at a 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 defeat at the ATP and WTA Cincinnati Open on Friday, violently slamming his racket and derailing the match in what he called the “worst match” of his career.
The reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion can’t compare to his 37-year-old French rival Gael Monfils, who has 20 years of tennis experience and is a threat to any young player.
“It was the worst game I’ve ever played in my career,” Alcaraz said. “I couldn’t play at all.”
“I don’t know what happened. To be honest, I couldn’t control myself. I couldn’t perform better. There was no way I could win, that’s all.”
The Spaniard added: “I come here and I will feel good. I will play a good tennis because I know how to play on this court.”
Alcaraz said he has never broken a racket in anger, but this game was an exception.
The ATP No. 3 and 2023 Cincinnati runner-up will compete in the U.S. Open starting on Monday, having not won on hard courts a week ago and having played just one second-round hard-court match in the summer.
“It’s really hard to find something good from this game – I want to forget about it and try to get to New York,” he said.
“I’m going to practice hard and get used to these courts. I’m going to forget about this game.”
Monfils started his third-round catch-up match just hours after his win, but was exhausted as Holger Rüne narrowly defeated him 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
While frustrated second seed Alcaraz fumed about his form and occasionally shouted at his teammates, world number one Jannik Sinner spent his 23rd birthday in peace as fate handed him a gift in the form of an easy win.
Italy eased into the quarter-finals when Australian opponent Jordan Thompson withdrew from the tournament pre-match with a rib injury.
Sinner will next face a rematch of last week’s quarterfinal in Canada, where he lost to Andrey Rublev. The Russian defeated Brandon Nakajima 7-6 (7/5), 6-1 due to rain.
Third seed Alexander Zverev defeated Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta 7-5, 7-6 (8/6) to advance to the quarterfinals.
No. 5 Hubert Hurkacz, who made a quick comeback after knee surgery in July, defeated Italy’s Flavio Cobolli 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.
Seventh seed Kasper Ruud’s slump continued as the Norwegian lost 6-3, 6-1 to Felix Auger-Aliassime in 68 minutes, with the Canadian firing 14 aces.
– Swiatek Cruises ranked number one –
Women’s top seed Iga Swiatek defeated Marta Kostyuk for the second time this season, 6-2, 6-2 to advance to the quarterfinals.
The Pole defeated the Ukrainian player at the Indian Wells Open last March and currently has a 3-0 record without losing a set.
The top-ranked Swiatek won the previous round after a hard-fought three-set victory over Varvara Gracheva.
Swiatek won the first set in 31 minutes and easily won the second.
“I’m glad I kept the intensity, the first match it was a little bit lower,” Swiatek said, “but I’m ready for every match.”
“I’m glad I was consistent. I was very disciplined with everything I tried to handle.”
Third-seeded Aryna Sabalenka, a three-time semifinalist, beat Monfils’ wife, Elina Svitolina, 7-5, 6-2 to reach her fourth quarterfinal.
Sixth-seeded Jessica Pegula defeated 2023 runner-up Karolina Muchova 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 in a delayed second-round match.
Pegula’s second win of the day was a 6-2, 6-3 win over fellow American Taylor Townsend to advance to the quarterfinals against former U.S. Open runner-up Layla Fernandez.
Mother of two Caroline Wozniacki lost to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-5, 6-4.
Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen defeated Poland’s Magdalena Frech 6-1, 7-5 but then lost to Pavlyuchenkova 7-5, 6-1 in the third round.
Teenager Mila Andreeva defeated Italian Wimbledon finalist Jasmine Paolini 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
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