Carlos Alcaraz entertained fans in his first ATP-level match since the shocking loss he sustained in the second round of the US Open 2024. Alcaraz had numerous highlight plays from his win over Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the opening round of the Beijing Open 2024. However, a clip of his verbal battle with the chair umpire received the most traction on social media.
The former World No.1 is respected for his on-court demeanor and discipline. However, he caught every tennis enthusiast by surprise after receiving two-time violations in the opening set of the encounter itself.
Further taking the tennis world by shock, the four-time Grand Slam winner also indulged in a heated argument with the chair umpire. Immediately after receiving the time violation, the youngster angrily tossed the ball. Alcaraz instantly charged toward Raluca Alexandra Andrei to plead his case.
“This is not tennis… I’m always very quick, I never get warnings. You gave me two in one set. It’s impossible to play tennis like this,” Alcaraz said.
Carlos Alcaraz had words with the umpire after being handed a time violation on set point.#ChinaOpen pic.twitter.com/srHK1ks20M
— Eurosport (@eurosport) September 27, 2024
Following the conclusion of the match, the El Palmar native spoke about the same issue in the press conference. Justifying his anger, Alcaraz seemed to be livid at the fact that he had no time to complete his routine between points.
“Obviously, I was little bit mad about the time rule because I feel like I have no time. I have to run between points. I have no time to have a break, to rest or to breathe. I mean, if I finish the point at the net, which was the case, I have no time to go to the towel and do my routine. I was a little bit mad about it,” Alcaraz said.
This incident caused a massive stir among tennis enthusiasts. Fans attacked the umpire and the automatic shot clock for throwing Alcaraz off his rhythm.
The auto shot clock on that point barely gave Carlos to get in position and serve after the point before. He is one of the quickest (time wise) servers on tour & has never had a time violation. Frankly, it’s reasonable that he was frustrated at the lack of breathing space here.
— marni.x (@marni__4x) September 27, 2024
He is right: the umpire should act like a human being and assess all the circumstances to apply the time rule, if they don’t do it there will be cheaper to have a robot refereeing instead.
— Carlos Juan Martín Pérez | @kadejo@mastodon.online (@KadejoRojo) September 27, 2024
Some fans even suggested that the ATP reimplemented the rules where ballboys were allowed to bring towels to the players. Whereas, a few others seemed to be appreciating the fact that Carlos was speaking his mind out, expressing his concerns.
Carlos Alcaraz did a tremendous job of not getting distracted by the incident. He seemed to be more locked-in during the second set, improving his serve – 87% first serve points.
The #2 seed will be expected to play with the same intensity in his second-round clash against Tallon Griekspoor on Sunday.
