Carlos Alcaraz punches the Cincinnati bench and gets hurt

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• Carlos Alcaraz

Carlos Alcaraz had to experience a powerful wave of emotions during the final at the ATP Master 1000 in Cincinnati, a match he lost against the Serbian champion Novak Djokovic. Despite the more than 5 hours difference spent on the court, the Spaniard found the energy to battle from start to finish against Nole, getting the first set 7-5 and coming close to winning the second one, in which he also had a match point.

However, the Spaniard let himself go to a bad gesture, the second in a row after throwing a racket in Toronto last week, after having lost the tie-break which effectively reopened the match. The 20-year-old from Murcia sat down again and punched his own bench, also hurting his right hand.

The tension and anger played a trick on Carlitos, who had to call his physiotherapist for a quick check on the condition of his hand. Here is the video of what happened, released by the Tennis Channel, which immediately went around the web.

😳😳 pic.twitter.com/ZJgL5odkkI — Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) August 20, 2023

Alcaraz lost the Cincinnati final against Djokovic

Alcaraz's tears moved the crowd in the stands in Cincinnati, who watched the final of the Western & Southern Open.The wasted match point in the second set tie-break could have knocked any player down; not Alcaraz.

The Spaniard continued to fight and lengthened a match that seemed to be over by canceling four match points, two with out of the ordinary shots.The tears of the young Spaniard at the end of the longest final ever seen in an ATP Masters 1000 tournament represent better than any other image the passion of a boy willing to always throw his heart beyond the obstacle to write the history of tennis.

In the on court interview, Carlitos explained: "I'm exhausted but proud of myself. I fought to the last point: I don't know why I was crying at the end. I nearly beat one of the greatest tennis players of all time. It's crazy to talk about this final now, but I left the pitch feeling genuine happiness for what I did.

My team and I are proud of ourselves. It was really difficult to play against Novak today. He forced me to run from one side of the field to the other for most of the game. I tried to stay there, physically hold on, but it was really hard."