Carlos Alcaraz suffered a shock exit from the round of 32 at Cincinnati Open 2024 on Friday, August 16. The Wimbledon champion lost 4-6, 7-6, 6-4 to unseeded French veteran Gael Monfils in the men’s singles clash in a big blow to his US Open 2024 preparations.
The world no.3 Alcaraz was tipped favourite for the Cincinnati Open, the ATP 1000 title, in the absence of the reigning champion Novak Djokovic. But the Spaniard was dominated by Monfils despite winning the opening set. The former world no.6 Monfils left Alcaraz in frustration as the latter lost his cool and smashed his racquet on a hard court until it broke.
After the match, Alcaraz explained his behaviour on the court and said that it was the world match of his career. Alacarz also added he was clueless despite hitting the ball well and said the match was impossible to win.
“It’s kind of really difficult to find some good stuff from this
match,” Alcaraz said in the post-match press conference. “So I want to forget it and try to move on to New York. I’ll go to New York and I’ll try to practise well, to get used to those courts. And I will forget this match because I think it is impossible to get any good things about this match.
“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, and 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.”
Alcaraz famously lost to Novak Djokovic in the 2023 Cincinnati Open final in one of the most exciting matches. He also entered this edition after a heartbreaking final loss against the Serbian great in the recent Paris Olympics 2024 men’s singles final.