TENNIS
Kyrgios on Alcaraz’s racquet throw at the Canadian Open: “Good on him for showing he is human”
The Australian player talked about Alcaraz’s frustration during his match against Tommy Paul, who came out on top in three sets.
Carlos Alcaraz was the No. 1 favorite to lift the trophy at the National Bank Open, but things played out differently from what many expected.
The Spaniard played consistently enough to beat Ben Shelton in his debut at the Canadian Open but was against the ropes vs. Hubert Hurkacz. Although Carlitos managed to come back to defeat the Pole in three sets via two tiebreaks, it felt like he wasn’t dominating as he used to in Wimbledon and previous tournaments this year.
Alcaraz, who had already lost to Tommy Paul last year, tasted defeat again against the American player. During the game, Alcaraz was seen complaining to his team and throwing the racquet as a result of his frustration, something that fans hadn’t been very familiar with when watching the Murcia native play.
Kyrgios ‘understands’ Alcaraz
Although the world No. 1 managed to tie the game by winning the second set, Paul was the more consistent player in the third and final one to emerge victorious.
Besides Paul’s impressive victory, another moment made fans go to social media to share their thoughts and comments. That was when Alcaraz flung his racquet toward his seat.
“No code violations for boy wonder”, said one of them, sharing a clip of the incident.
Nick Kyrgios reacted to that comment to defend Alcaraz and his reaction during the game.
“Who the fu*k cares…. The dude is gonna be carrying the tennis load for the next decade, good on him for showing he is human. Frustrated not playing up to standards. Also, let’s start giving codes to umpires”, Kyrgios said.
Alcaraz will now compete at the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati, where he will try to get a better result than in Toronto before the start of the US Open in New York.