“Wanted to distract me,” Carlos Alcaraz accuses Stefanos Tsitsipas of playing mind games while causing delay during a highly controversial QF match

Carlos Alcaraz knocked first seed Stefanos Tsitsipas out of the Barcelona Open, 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, and advanced to the quarterfinals in his home country. The victory also ensures that the teenager will enter the ATP Top 10 for the first time next week. However, there were a few moments in the game where it became too contentious, such as when the Greek slammed the ball into Alcaraz and accused him of taking an excessively long ‘Toilet break’. In light of this, Alcaraz believes it was only a ‘distraction’ from Tsitsipas’ side.

“I am ready to get the title”- Carlos Alcaraz

“This was probably my biggest win on a clay court,” Carlos Alcaraz said afterwards. “It was unbelievable, the game that I played, the atmosphere on court, the level of the match – everything.”

“I knew that Tsitsipas is a player who finds it harder to run forward than to the sides. I have a very good drop shot, I would say, and I resolve well if he reaches me. It is a resource that I use a lot and I try to push the player back to be able to make the drop shot. I tried to reset my head, I went to the bathroom and tried to forget everything that happened and just focus on the third set,” the 18-year-old revealed.

Upon getting asked What happened at that moment when Tsitsipas went to the bathroom in the middle of a set and received two warnings, he remarked, “Sincerely I don’t know. I’ve never seen anyone go to the bathroom in the middle of a break. I don’t know the exact rule, but I do know that it was a warning, although I don’t know that it was a colon. But that, I had never seen.”

Tsitsipas’ actions on the court, according to the young Spaniard, were part of a master plan to distract him and disrupt his rhythm. However, he didn’t allow it to get to him, though, and remained focused. “Honestly, yes, I think it was. The bathroom was far away, and he wanted to do the same, stop the rhythm with which he had been leading in the third set and he didn’t succeed, that’s the good thing.”

“I beat the favourite. He came from winning Monte-Carlo…I’m playing an incredible level and I’m ready to get a title,” concluded Carlos Alcaraz rather optimistically ahead of his Barcelona Open semi-finals where he will encounter Alex de Minaur.

Also Read: “Fire them,” Stefanos Tsitsipas furious at umpire over toilet break controversy, receives penalty

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