The fans have always known Carlos Alcaraz as a calm personality, but the Spaniard recently showed a completely different side of himself at the Cincinnati Masters. Playing with a bucket of expectations on his shoulders, the young champ couldn’t contain his frustration, as he was losing points in the match against Gael Monfils, and smashed his racket on the court in an act of rage. While he was handed a code of misconduct on the court, the reigning Wimbledon champion also received negative comments from the fans. After getting enough time to set things right in his mind, Alcaraz finally decided to make amends.

After the unexpected act of frustration, the 21-year-old dropped a message on his X account, as a measure to re-establish his calm image among the fans. “I want to apologise for my attitude yesterday,” the Spaniard posted on Instagram. “It was not good and that should not happen on court. I’m human, the nerves had accumulated and sometimes it’s very tough to control when there is that tension. I will work so that it that it doesn’t happen again.”

Apart from assuring his followers that things of this sort won’t be repeated during his presence on the court, Alcaraz also clarified his vision for the near future. “Now it’s time to think about NYC,” Carlitos added. The recent defeat at the Cincinnati Masters indicated a bit of lost momentum for Carlos Alcaraz, which he is now ready to work on.

Coming back to the match against Monfils, even though frustration was on the surge for Alcaraz, he didn’t refuse to talk to the media in the post-match interview. The Spaniard turned up and reflected on his experience. “It was the worst match that I ever played in my career. I couldn’t play,” the 21-year-old said. Trying to gather a reason behind why a regular showdown turned into a chaotic one, he added, “I don’t know what happened. Honestly, I couldn’t, I couldn’t control myself. I couldn’t be better. It was impossible to win, and that’s all.”

Although the explanation in the post-match interview didn’t lead to a satisfying closure, the fact that Carlos Alcaraz has stepped forward to apologize on social media now may neutralize the effect of his angry reaction to a large extent. While this is a phase that many top-ranked players go through, Novak Djokovic once explained a possible reason behind the racket smash.

When Novak Djokovic lost his cool like Carlos Alcaraz

Novak Djokovic once expressed regret for smashing two racquets during a match against Holger Rune at the ATP Finals back in 2023. The incident occurred after Djokovic lost the second set in a tense match. However, despite his frustration, the Serb managed to regain composure and eventually took the young Dane down, therefore securing his position as the year-end World No.1.

Although he hadn’t gathered his composure completely, Djokovic still acknowledged his mistake in the post-match interview, saying, “Some people are saying that if you want to use that word ‘pragmatic’ for me to do that because then I can release whatever tension I’m holding and frustration and move on, maybe that was the case tonight.”

Despite presenting an explanation for his act, Djokovic was clear that he didn’t want to encourage such behavior, adding, “I’m not happy. I’m not happy with that. I definitely don’t like that I have done that, but I have done it and that is it and I have to take responsibility.”

The former world no. 1 admitted there are better ways to handle frustration, saying, “There are different ways, maybe smarter ways to let go of the frustration than breaking a racquet.”

This wasn’t just an explanation of Djokovic’s own act. The Serb rather wanted to send a message to the young players battling on the court. As the 21-year-old Carlos Alcaraz looks forward to the upcoming US Open now, it remains to be seen if he will be able to regain his composure and the support of the fans.