Carlos Alcaraz launched his racket onto the ground in frustration after ruining his chances of getting out of the group stage at the ATP Finals.
The world No. 3 needed to beat Alexander Zverev in straight sets to have the best chance of reaching the semi-finals.
But he lost a close opening set in a tiebreak and threw his racket when he returned to his bench as tempers flared.
Alcaraz came into his last round-robin match of the week with a clear goal in mind – to give himself the best chance of reaching the semi-final. The Spaniard went 1-1 in his first two matches and couldn’t guarantee his fate regardless of the score against Zverev.
But he would’ve been highly likely to reach the final four if he won in straights. Meanwhile, Zverev needed to take just one set to seal his spot in the semis.
Alcaraz was under pressure early on – he saved six break points in the first two games and fended off a set point at 5-6. But all of his efforts were ultimately for nothing.
After forcing a tiebreak, things quickly started to unravel and Zverev took the 68-minute set 7-6(5). The 21-year-old was fuming after letting it get away from him and launched his racket onto his bag at the changeover.
Things quickly went from bad to worse when Alcaraz was broken in the first game of the second set. The world No. 3 was clearly flustered and started venting to his box in Spanish.
“That can be interpreted as not a happy camper,” Tim Henman said on Sky Sports commentary. Alcaraz blew two break point chances, allowing Zverev to extend his lead to 4-2.
At the next changeover, Alcaraz seemed to have already accepted his loss. Sitting courtside, Laura Robson said: “He was gesturing to his team that he was done. The hand motion was like that, he’s done.”
Alcaraz has been battling an illness while in Turin which has visibly affected him in matches. After losing to Casper Ruud on Monday, he admitted he didn’t “feel well” and had discomfort in his stomach.
The four-time Grand Slam champion had been wearing a nasal strip during his practice sessions. And he took to the court wearing the unusual gear for his second match against Andrey Rublev.
It did the trick – he won 6-3 7-6(8) and later said he found it a lot easier to breathe during the match. Alcaraz wore the pink nose strip again on Friday to face Zverev but it didn’t have the same effect.
Zverev was too strong – he closed out a 7-6(5) 6-4 victory to get out of the group stage with an undefeated 3-0 record, failing to drop a set.
It means Alcaraz’s fate now rests solely in the hands of Rublev, who faces Ruud in the last round-robin match on Friday evening.
The Russian must win the match in straight sets to give Alcaraz a chance of reaching the semi-final. In that case, Zverev would advance as group winner. It would come down to percentage of games won by Alcaraz and Ruud to determine who makes the last four.
If Ruud wins even just one set, Alcaraz will be knocked out.
