Nick Kyrgios and Corentin Moutet dropped absolutely hilarious reactions to the Carlos Alcaraz racket smash as the two funnily highlighted that their outbursts don’t usually get explained as just them wanting to win the match.
On Friday at the Cincinnati Masters, No. 2 seed Alcaraz absolutely lost his cool while struggling and down by a break to Gael Monfils in the third set of their second-round match. And in those moments, tennis fans had a chance to see something unlike ever before – the 21-year-old Spaniard smashed his racket four times on the court.
While a player breaking a racket isn’t anything new in tennis, Alcaraz doing it was a thing that instantly drew attention since the Spanish four-time Grand Slam champion doesn’t have the reputation of being someone who is prone to outbursts and meltdowns on the court.
And after Alcaraz did it, the commentator on air defended the 21-year-old’s action by stating “he desperately wants to win the match.”
“When I do it I’ve got ‘mental issue,'” Moutet – who has a history of various outbursts and meltdowns – funnily remarked.
Kyrgios joined in by dropping a hilarious comment too: “Haha what about when (I) do it? Hahahahahaah.”
Haha what about when do it? Hahahahahaah
— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) August 17, 2024
The racket smash didn’t help Alcaraz
Breaking a racket maybe helped Alcaraz relieve some of the tension and nervousness he was feeling at the moment. But ultimately, it didn’t lead to him getting back into the match as world No. 46 Monfils went on to complete a 4-6 7-6 (5) 6-4 win.
Following the loss, the recent French Open and Wimbledon champion didn’t hide his unhappiness at all as he declared it “the worst match” of his career.
“I felt like it was the worst match that I ever played in my career. [I] couldn’t play. Honestly, I’ve been practicing 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,” Alcaraz explained after the match.
“It’s kind of really difficult to find some good stuff from this match. 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 practice 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.”
Alcaraz also wasn’t happy with the Cincinnati court
Alcaraz labeling the Monfils loss as his worst performance wasn’t the only big comment he made during his post-match presser as he also stunningly claimed that the Center Court in Cincinnati felt different compared to other courts on site.
“I felt like I was playing a different sport on the center court compared to the other courts. The ball was faster, much more so than on the others. I warmed up before the match, and it was a completely different feeling, I don’t know why. I don’t know what happened, why I felt this way. I couldn’t control myself, I couldn’t be better, so this match was impossible to win, and that’s it,” Alcaraz added.
Last year, Alcaraz made his first Cincinnati final before falling just short to Novak Djokovic in a thriller that nearly hit the four-hour mark. Asked if he returned to Cincinnati with the hopes of going a step further this year, the 21-year-old underlined that was the case.
“I always go to tournaments thinking I have a chance to win, wanting to show good tennis on the court, but I came thinking I would feel good, I know how to play on these courts, but I felt that the surfaces were completely different, like another sport,” Alcaraz noted.
Now, Alcaraz plans to use the next couple of days to try to forget what happened in Cincinnati and see what he can do put himself in the best possible position to contend for the US Open title.
“The only thing that worried me was to recover well to be prepared for today’s match. I didn’t play well yesterday either, we didn’t have any rallies, it was all serving, trying to get the balls in, and that was it. The longest rally yesterday was 5 shots; I couldn’t find good feelings. I thought today would be different, that I would feel better, but it didn’t happen,” Alcaraz said.