(In Pictures) Carlos Alcaraz Clashes With Umpire Over Shot Clock During Tokyo Open Final Against Taylor Fritz

Carlos Alcaraz beat Taylor Fritz in straight sets to win his eighth title at the Tokyo Open.

(In Pictures) Carlos Alcaraz Clashes With Umpire Over Shot Clock During Tokyo Open Final Against Taylor Fritz

Carlos Alcaraz clashed with the umpire during Taylor Fritz game (via X/Jose Morgado)

🔍 Explore this post with:

ChatGPTPerplexityGrok AIGoogle AI

Carlos Alcaraz got into a heated exchange with umpire Fergus Murphy during his championship match at the Tokyo Open. The Spaniard was not pleased with a long rally point he failed to earn in the first set of the match. However, the 22-year-old went on to win the match in straight sets, claiming his seventh title of the season.

Just nine days after Taylor Fritz had stunned Alcaraz at the Laver Cup in San Francisco, the American star faced the Spaniard at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships. Alcaraz began the tie in his usual style of dominating the court, forcing the 27-year-old to make early errors.

After that, the two stars played a nine-shot exchange in the fourth game, which ended with Alcaraz planting a high backhand volley into the net. He then stayed there for a few seconds to regain his breath. Umpire Murphy didn’t like the time he wasted and gave him a time violation warning. But Alcaraz regrouped and hit his trademark lob that stunned Fritz.

While sitting down during the change of ends midway through the first set, Alcaraz expressed his displeasure at receiving a time violation during the previous game. He argued with umpire Murphy that he doesn’t know how players feel after a long, lung-busting rally on the court:

Do you think this is normal? It is normal, or no? I’m asking a question, is it normal or no? Finish the point at the net, I’m a little bit tired about the ball (after the point) and I can go to ask for the balls. Do you think this is normal or no?

Umpire Murphy then replied to the Spaniard, which couldn’t be heard, but Alcaraz was less pleased with his comments and responded:

You haven’t played tennis in your life, come on. You’ve never played tennis in your life.

Alcaraz went on to win the set 6-4 in the end. Fritz then took a time violation and returned to the court struggling with a leg problem. That gave the Spaniard the opportunity to control the game, breaking him twice early. But in the eighth game, the American star broke Alcaraz for the first time, but couldn’t complete the comeback. Alcaraz went on to win the match 6-4, 6-4 claiming the ATP 500 title in Tokyo on his debut.

Carlos Alcaraz excited about claiming his eighth title of the season in Tokyo

Carlos Alcaraz had an injury scare during his opening match against Sebastian Baez and didn’t train 24 hours after twisting his left ankle. However, he has surprisingly shown that the injury concern was nothing to worry about. Also, he dropped only one set at the tournament, and that came in the semi-finals against Casper Ruud.

Carlos Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz (via the US Open)

The 22-year-old has now taken his tally to eight this season, more than any player on tour, and leads the tour-match wins with 67. During his title presentation speech, he admitted that the 2025 season has been his best so far, having reached ten finals and claimed eight titles. He then added that he got better as the season went on after a disappointing start:

It’s been my best season so far without a doubt. Eight titles, 10 finals… That shows how hard I’ve worked just to be able to experience these moments and accomplish my goals. I didn’t start the year that good, struggling emotionally, so how I came back from that, I’m just really proud of myself, and of all the people around me who have helped me to be in this position.

Alcaraz is seeking to better his arch-rival Jannik Sinner’s tally of 73 match wins last season. The World No.1 will compete at the Shanghai Masters, Paris Masters, and ATP Finals before the season ends. Also, he’s more likely to claim ten titles this season considering his mind-blowing form at the moment.

Also Read: Coco Gauff Speaks on the Behavior of Chinese Crowd Amid Controversies on Lorenzo Musetti and Taylor Townsend