Carlos Alcaraz’s US Open preparations took a hit on Friday as he was beaten in the Cincinnati second round by Gael Monfils.
In a match held over from the night before because of rain with Alcaraz a set up, the world No 3 and former US Open champion was beaten 4-6, 7-6, 6-4 by the French world No 46.
Alcaraz smashed his racket in frustration after Monfils held to go 3-1 up in the deciding set, with the Spaniard squandering four break points in total in the set.
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Assuming Alcaraz doesn’t take a late entry into a tournament next week, it means that he will be heading into the US Open with only one hard-court match under his belt.
That won’t be a major concern for a player so adept at adapting to his surroundings – he is the youngest male player ever to have won a slam on all three surfaces – but it’s still not the ideal preparation going into the final major of the year, and an event he won two years ago.
Alcaraz’s previous match was the Olympic final defeat to Novak Djokovic at Roland Garros, and it’s possible he was suffering a bit of a hangover here against the out-of-form world No 46 in what was a major upset.
The tournament has been littered with surprise defeats, including Daniil Medvedev falling to Jiri Lehecka; Tommy Paul to Flavio Cobolli; and Taylor Fritz to Brandon Nakashima.
(Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
