How Carlos Alcaraz’s Cincinnati defeat and racket smash damages 2024 US Open chances

Carlos Alcaraz suffered a surprise defeat to veteran Frenchman Gaël Monfils in the round 32 of the 2024 Cincinnati Open, although arguably the most shocking thing about his 6-4, 6-7, 4-6 loss was when he furiously and repeatedly smashed his racket into the ground in the third and final set.

The Spaniard has become known for playing with a smile on his face in the early stages of his career, although couldn’t have been further from the truth towards the end of his clash against 37-year-old Monfils.

Why did Alcaraz break his racket against Gaël Monfils?

Having been broken near the start of the third set, the back-to-back Wimbledon champion missed break point chances to level at 2-2, which tipped him over the edge.

After his opponent held serve to make it 3-1, Alcaraz pounded his racket into the ground no fewer than four times, which astonished the Centre Court crowd, some of whom whistled and jeered in reaction to his unexpected tantrum.

How does Alcaraz’s Cincinnati defeat affect his US Open seeding?

Not only are his hopes of winning the ATP Masters 1000 tournament clearly over, his bad day at the office could damage his hopes of winning the 2024 US Open, where he won his first ever Grand Slam title two years ago.

After reaching the final of the 2023 Cincinnati Open, Alcaraz will lose a significant number of world ranking points as a result of only getting to the last 32 this year. Not only will that allow Jannik Sinner to extend his advantage at the top, it means the 21-year-old cannot now overtake world no. 2 Novak Djokovic, who isn’t playing this week.

The Spaniard is set to be seeded third for the 2024 US Open at Flushing Meadows, which means he could face either Sinner or Djokovic, theoretically the two strongest possible adversaries, in the semifinals rather than the final.

If Alexander Zverev, who, like Sinner, has reached the quarterfinals in Cincinnati, were to win the tournament, he would move up to second in the world, bumping Alcaraz down to fourth.