“He’s just a sore loser, such a disgrace” Carlos Alcaraz slammed by fans after mid-match retirement at the 2022 Paris Masters
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Carlos Alcaraz - IMAGO / Shutterstock
World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz‘s clash with fellow teenager Holger Rune came to an anti-climatic end at the 2022 Paris Masters. With a thrilling clash anticipated from the two young guns, Alcaraz retired just moments before the second set could conclude. Rune advances to the semis leading the match 6-3, 6-6.
The win takes Rune to his maiden Masters-1000 semis while for Alcaraz it’s a matter of concern. With the 2022 ATP Finals about to commence next week, Alcaraz’s injury could hamper his chances of winning the year-end championships and also losing the top-ranked place.
With Rune taking the first set, Alcaraz was on the verge of going out in straight sets. The Spaniard, however, decided to end his match at the very moment before the tiebreaker could end as 4 more points and Rune would have won. As expected, fans were massively upset with Alcaraz for not continuing the tiebreaker set.
Carlos Alcaraz accused of escaping loss by faking an injury against Holger Rune
Alcaraz’s withdrawal from the match minutes before the tiebreaker set could conclude elicited a plethora of backlash against him on Twitter. The tennis community is divided whether he was genuinely incapable of continuing further or it was merely a fake injury. With instances of many players retiring when a defeat looked imminent, Alcaraz was also questioned in a similar manner. While Alcaraz’s official statement would settle some doubts, fans are nevertheless angry and disappointed with the World No. 1.
Many even suggested he should have taken the example of compatriot Rafael Nadal or the legends of the game like Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. The Big-3 have been known to have completed matches despite going through some bad injuries and have always found ways to win a particular match.
Sharing a wide spectrum of reactions online, here’s what fans had to say:
With Alcaraz’s retirement, Rune will now enter the last 4 and take on Felix Auger-Aliassime in the semi-finals. Aliassime earlier defeated Frances Tiafoe in straight sets to reach his first 2022 Paris Masters semi-finals round since 2019. The Canadian has been in exceptional form and the matchup with Rune promises to be quite exciting for the viewers.
As for Alcaraz, the next couple of days will be quite tense with all the haterade and backlash coming in from all corners of the internet. While some can argue he made a wise decision by not taking a risk to hurt his chances in Turin next week, retirement at such a crucial point in the match will look suspicious and allegedly fake to many others.
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Sarthak Shitole
(3462 Articles Published)