Carlos Alcaraz has reached the quarterfinals of the Cincinnati Open, but he was not entirely happy about everything.
Alcaraz struggled in his opening match in Cincinnati, but appears to have found his feet after winning back-to-back matches in straight sets.
The Spaniard’s latest victory came over a friend of his, with Alcaraz beating childhood friend Luca Nardi.
However, one of the main talking points from the match actually came when Alcaraz was clearly irritated by what the umpire had told him.
Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty ImagesCarlos Alcaraz involved in dispute with umpire over water bottle
It is rare to see Alcaraz looking frustrated on court, and while it was not his tennis that was causing any of this, something that umpire Greg Allensworth told him certainly did.
At the change of ends during the match, Alcaraz was told that he needed to cover up the logo on his water bottle.
The logo on Alcaraz’s bottle was Evian, a company that he is sponsored by, but this is not something he was willing to do.
During his exchange with Allensworth, Alcaraz told the umpire that it was his fault and refused to cover the bottle as requested.
Allensworth told Alcaraz, “We’ve been told because of the logos and the sponsors.”
Alcaraz responded, “It wasn’t my fault, it wasn’t my fault. Why should we cover this (points to water bottle), because it wasn’t my fault.”
Allensworth: “In all honesty I would have had you cover it up anyway.”
Alcaraz: “It wasn’t my fault, why you have to cover it if it wasn’t my fault.”
Allensworth: “It’s my fault…”
Alcaraz: “So because of your fault I have to cover it…you know it doesn’t work like this. It was your fault, it’s always your fault and then I have to pay for that because of your fault…I’m not going to cover it.”
Carlos Alcaraz matches Rafael Nadal and Pete Sampras record at the Cincinnati Open
Despite his frustrations concerning the incident with Allensworth, Alcaraz continues to make history after his, 6-1 6-4, victory over Nardi.
Following Alcaraz’s victories at the Italian Open and Monte Carlo Masters earlier this year, he has now won 14 consecutive matches at Masters 1000 tournaments.
The last time that he lost a Masters 1000 match was at the Miami Open, where Alcaraz was stunned by David Goffin.
This means that he has matched both Rafael Nadal and Pete Sampras, as one of only three players under the age of 23 to have achieved this feat.
Nadal went on to win 18 consecutive matches on his run, while Sampras won 17 in a row, meaning that Alcaraz will need to win the Cincinnati Open title for the first time to match the American.
As Alcaraz looks to continue his winning streak, his quarterfinal opponent at the Cincinnati Open is Andrey Rublev.
This will be a fifth meeting between the pair, with Alcaraz leading the head-to-head 3-1, but the first on outdoor hard courts.