CINCINNATI: Carlos Alcaraz vented his frustration with a violent racquet swing in a 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 loss on Friday at the ATP and WTA Cincinnati Open, which he described as the “worst match” of his career.

The reigning Roland Garros and Wimbledon champion was no match for the refined skills of his 37-year-old French opponent Gael Monfils, who has been playing tennis for two decades and is a threat to any young gun.

“It was the worst game of my career,” said Alcaraz. “I couldn’t play.”

“I don’t know what happened. Honestly, I couldn’t control myself. I couldn’t have done better. It was impossible to win, that’s all.”

The Spaniard added: “I came here thinking I would feel good. I will play good tennis because I know how to play on this court.”

Alcaraz said he had never broken a racket in anger before, but this game was the exception.

The ATP No. 3 player and 2023 Cincinnati runner-up enters a week before the US Open, which begins Monday, without a win on hard court and with just one second-round summer cement match under his belt.

“It’s really difficult to take anything good out of this game – I want to forget it and try to move on to New York,” he said.

“I will try to train well and get used to these pitches. And I will forget this game.”

Just hours after his victory, Monfils began a comeback match in the third round, but ran out of steam as Holger Rune secured a narrow comeback victory 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

While the frustrated number two seed Alcaraz was annoyed about his form and occasionally shouted at his team, world number one Jannik Sinner celebrated a quiet 23rd birthday, with fate giving him a match without a fight.

The Italian easily advanced to the quarterfinals, while his Australian opponent Jordan Thompson retired before the match due to a rib injury.

Next up, Sinner will face a rematch of his quarterfinal match from last week in Canada, which he lost to Andrey Rublev. The Russian finished a rain-postponed match against Brandon Nakashima 7-6 (7/5), 6-1.

Third-seeded Alexander Zverev advanced to the quarterfinals with a score of 7:5, 7:6 (8/6), defeating Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta.

No. 5 Hubert Hurkacz continued his quick return from knee surgery in July with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 victory over Italian Flavio Cobolli.

Seventh-seeded Casper Ruud’s poor form continued: The Norwegian lost 3-6 and 1-6 to Felix Auger-Aliassime in the 68th minute, with the Canadian hitting 14 aces.

Top seed Iga Swiatek defeated Marta Kostyuk for the second time this season to advance to the quarterfinals with a score of 6-2, 6-2.

The Pole repeated her victory over the Ukrainian last March in Indian Wells and is now 3-0 up in the rivalry without losing a set.

Due to the morning rain, Swiatek entered the court without her usual pre-match routine, but showed no ill effects.

Top-seeded Swiatek was able to finish the win efficiently after battling through three sets in the previous round, defeating Varvara Gracheva.

Swiatek secured the first set in 31 minutes and left the second set behind him without a care in the world.

“I’m glad I kept my intensity. It dropped a bit in the first game,” said Swiatek. “But I was ready in every game.”

“I’m glad I was solid. I was disciplined about all the things I wanted to take care of.”

Three-time semifinalist and third-seeded Aryna Sabalenka defeated Monfils’ wife Elina Switolina 7-5, 6-2 to reach her fourth quarterfinal.

Sixth seed Jessica Pegula won a delayed second-round match against 2023 runner-up Karolina Muchova 5-7, 6-4, 6-2.

Pegula’s second win of the day was a 6-2, 6-3 triumph over fellow American Taylor Townsend, securing her a quarterfinal meeting against former US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez.

Mother of two Caroline Wozniacki continued her WTA comeback efforts but lost to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-5, 6-4.

Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen defeated Poland’s Magdalena Frech 6:1, 7:5. Teenager Mirra Andreeva eliminated Italian Wimbledon finalist Jasmine Paolini 3:6, 6:3, 6:2.