World number three Carlos Alcaraz suffered a rare meltdown on court in the Cincinnati Open on Friday and ultimately lost against number 46 in the world, the Frenchman Gael Monfils, in three sets.

Alcaraz, who was seeded second in the tournament, won the first set 6 – 4. The 37-year-old Monfils, however, took the second set 7 – 6 to force the match into a deciding set.

The veteran broke early in the third set and held serve to go up 3 – 1. Alcaraz then threw a rare tantrum on court, smashing his racquet on the hard court four times, breaking it in several places. It was the writing on the wall for Spain’s silver medal winner and he went down 6 – 4 to Monfils.

Seeing this has shocked ?? and also saddened ?? me.

Hope Carlos Alcaraz can reflect and make amends ?? #Alcaraz #Cincinnati #tennis pic.twitter.com/L1QlqzrfrR

— Rajesh Rathod (@Rajayshworld) August 16, 2024

After the match, Carlos told the media that he had been practising well in Cincinnati on other courts, but the balls were much faster on centre court. “I felt like it was the worst match that I’ve ever played in my career,” he said. “I couldn’t play.”

“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 some certain moments, they can't control themselves. And it was one of those moments for me.”

The 21-year-old Alcaraz was competing in his first hard-court tournament since Miami in March. He lost in the final last year against Novak Djokovic in what is largely considered one of the greatest ATP Masters 1000 finals.

OFM Sport/Ilse Smalberger cg