Carlos Alcaraz faced Novak Djokovic in the 2022 Cincinnati Open final, and at one point, he got really frustrated.
Playing against Djokovic is never easy, and it’s not a major surprise that Alcaraz found himself rather frustrated at one point in the match. As good as he’s been this week in Cincinnati, the Spaniard was still facing one of the best players in the world.
Many would declare Djokovic the best player in the world, and there might have been added motivation for the Serbian. The Wimbledon final they contested didn’t happen too long ago, and Alcaraz won that one.
Djokovic probably had some added motivation for this meeting, and he certainly played like it. Despite the Spaniard outplaying him in the opening set (7-5 for Alcaraz), Djokovic would storm back in the second set and play incredibly well.
It concluded in a tie-break, in which the Serbian played a tiny bit better, ultimately winning it 9-7. Losing a tie-break with that score is obviously frustrating. It’s probably frustrating for the fans, let alone the players
Alcaraz was visibly upset by losing the second set, and that frustration burst out. When he got to his bench, the Spaniard obliterated part of the sitting area for players in a very violent outburst.
Cameras caught it, of course, which can be seen in the video below, but it was clear towards the end that he became a bit more self-aware. He was slamming a hard object with his playing hand, and that’s never a good idea.
Players have injured themselves in the past by being careless with something like that, but the frustration was understandable. Victory slipped away from him in a very close tie-break, and a third set against Djokovic would follow. As exciting as that might sound, it’s not the most pleasant experience for any player.
On top of that, the Spanish prodigy seemed to have injured his hand in the process and called the physio as a result of his outburst.