Greek tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas got booed by the Barcelona crowd after losing the first set versus Carlos Alcaraz and later got into a heated argument with the chair umpire.
On a set point, Tsitsipas ripped a shot that was nowhere near landing in but luckily it missed Alcaraz, who was at the net.
The Barcelona crowd didn’t like Tsitsipas seemingly targeting Alcaraz and they let him hear it.
Tension on set point…@alcarazcarlos03 wins the first as the crowd get involved in Barcelona 😶#BCNOpenBS pic.twitter.com/eRrPI2lELA
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 22, 2022
Tsitsipas won the second set to force a decider but then Alcaraz took what Tsitsipas thought was a lengthy bathroom break.
Tsitsipas argued Alcaraz was taking too long but the chair umpire didn’t agree.
Tsitsipas lost his cool and at one he could have heard shouting at the chair umpire: “If you are wrong, you should be fired.”
I’m simply losing it sjfhebdsnsbf pic.twitter.com/Wh1hXraTXB
— Krista (@BwehRublev) April 22, 2022
Tsitsipas beaten by Alcaraz in three sets
Tsitsipas, who won the Monte Carlo Masters last week, suffered his first clay loss of the year after he was handed a 6-4 5-7 6-2 loss by Alcaraz.
“Probably my biggest win on clay court. It was unbelievable,” Alcaraz said after beating Tsitsipas. “Unbelievable game that I played, unbelievable atmosphere that I lived today on court. It was unbelievable everything. The atmosphere here, the crowd, the level that I played, the level of the match. It was incredible.”
Alcaraz appeared to be cruising toward a comfortable straight-set win as he was up by a set and two breaks in the second set.
Alcaraz blew a huge second set lead but recovered in the third to escape with a three-set win.
“I went to the bathroom just to turn off my mind, just trying to change what I played at the end of the second set, just to be focused on the third set,” he explained. “Forget everything in the match and just give 100 per cent in the third set.”
Tsitsipas was aiming to reach his third Barcelona final this year.