Carlos Alcaraz suffered a shock second-round exit at the Cincinnati Open at the hands of veteran Frenchman Gael Monfils in a rain-delayed clash.
The match was left balanced on a knife’s edge on Thursday night when rain cancelled play for the night after Alcaraz took the first set 6-4 but found himself down 3-1 in the second-set tie-break.
When they returned to action under bright but windy conditions on Friday, it was 37-year-old Monfils who turned the match around to seal a stunning 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 success against the second seed.
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Alcaraz was playing his first hard-court tournament since Miami in March, and his first event since winning a silver medal at the Paris Olympics.
Monfils will need to pull double duty in Ohio, where he will return later to face 15th seed Holger Rune in the third round.
Defeat for Alcaraz means he will not overtake Novak Djokovic in the ATP rankings this week.
German Alexander Zverev can pass both by winning the title in Cincinnati and become world No 2 and second seed at the US Open, avoiding both Djokovic and Alcaraz before the final.
Zverev reached the quarter-finals with a 7-5 7-6 (8-6) victory over Spain’s Pablo Carrero Busta.
Tale of the Tape
Bonjour Skai!
Why did Alcaraz smash his racket?
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“I’ve seen him smash a racket once before but not in the manner that he did it here. That was quite something. It was like a pressure cooker absolutely exploding. He was clearly bubbling under the surface,” said Annabel Croft on Sky Sports Tennis.
Tim Henman said: “Why is he so frustrated when he’s only been on court probably for 15-20 minutes today? That’s probably something to do with the conditions.
“When you reflect on some of the unforced errors and some of the mistakes he made, it just goes to show that he’s human. He’s going to need a bit of time to decompress.”
Felix Auger-Aliassime recorded the milestone 50th Masters 1000 win of his career with a 6-3 6-1 victory over Casper Ruud to set up a meeting with British No 1 Jack Draper later on Friday.
And Andrey Rublev enjoyed a comfortable passage to the last-eight, defeating American Brandon Nakashima 7-6 (7-5) 6-1.
Rublev will now play world No 1 Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals, whose third round opponent Jordan Thompson withdrew before their match because of a rib injury.
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In the women’s draw, top seed Iga Swiatek defeated Marta Kostyuk to reach the Cincinnati Open quarter-finals, advancing 6-2 6-2 in 70 minutes.
Swiatek will next face either Jasmine Paolini, the French Open and Wimbledon finalist, or 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva as she bids to reach the semi-finals for a second year running.
What’s coming up on Sky Sports Tennis?
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In the run-up to the final Grand Slam of 2024 – the US Open – you can watch all of the biggest tennis stars in action live on Sky Sports as they compete across the hard-court season.
- Cincinnati Open (ATP 1000) – Until August 19
- Cincinnati Open (WTA 1000) – Until August 19
- Winston-Salem Open (ATP 250) – 18-24 August
- Tennis in the Land, Cleveland (WTA 250) – 18-24 August
- Abierto GNP Seguros, Monterrey (WTA 500) – 19-24 August
- US Open (ATP/WTA) – 26 August – 8 September
Watch the WTA and ATP Tours throughout 2024 on Sky Sports Tennis. Stream Sky Sports Tennis and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership. No contract, cancel anytime.
