WATCH: Alcaraz Joins Crowd In Doing Mexican Wave During Rain Break In Cincinnati
ATP
Carlos Alcaraz spent a fraction of a 20-minute mid-match rain break to join in on a Mexican wave with an exuberant Cincinnati crowd during his battling victory over Jordan Thompson.
Alcaraz was seeking to win his 50th match of the season on Tuesday evening, but multiple rain delays meant that the match spilled over into the early hours of Wednesday, finishing after 1 am local time. The first set of the second-round match at the 2023 Cincinnati Masters was certainly eventful and lasted an hour and 39 minutes.
Just three games into the match, rain halted proceedings with the first set on serve. Both players were advised by the chair umpire to stay put under the umbrellas on the court as it was predicted to be a passing shower. And Alcaraz warmed to the crowd and raised his arms three times for the popular Mexican wave.
The TV cameras didn't miss the moment, and Alcaraz was captured smiling throughout the 20-minute interlude. On resumption of play, Thompson nudged ahead with a break of serve and threatened an upset which if it materialized, would have inflicted back-to-back defeats to Alcaraz for the first time in a year.
But Alcaraz managed to rescue the situation, restoring the break back almost immediately, and broke Thompson late in the opening set to complete the turnaround. An inspired Thompson managed to respond, winning the second set 6-4.
It proved to be a momentary blip as normal service resumed in the decider. Alcaraz broke in the first and last game of the third set to notch his 50th win of the season, which is the most by any ATP player this season.
Considering he missed the entire Australian swing in January due to injury (and only started his season in late February on clay), it's been a terrific turnaround to lead the charts in match wins. He will meet in the third round either Tommy Paul (who beat him in Canada this past week) or France's Ugo Humbert.
