Tennis superstar and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz admits he lost ‘control’ after smashing up his racket in a rare Cincinnati Open tantrum.
Alcaraz is considered to be one of the best tennis players on the planet and some believe he is already on par with Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
He clinched the Wimbledon title for the second straight year in July, becoming just the second man in the Open Era to win his first four major singles finals.
Alcaraz suffered a painful defeat to Djokovic in the Olympic singles gold medal match at Paris 2024, though, and is now gearing up for the start of the US Open.
He was most recently playing in Cincinnati but has suffered an surprise exit to Gael Monfils – with Alcaraz having an angry, out-of-character on-court meltdown.
Speaking after world No.46 Monfils, 37, wrapped up a 4-6 7-6 (5) 6-4 win, world No.3 Alcaraz, 21, 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.
‘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.
‘Today, I couldn’t control myself, because, as I said, I was feeling that I was not playing any kind of tennis.
‘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.
‘I felt like it was the worst match that I ever played in my career. [I] couldn’t play. 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.
‘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.’
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