Carlos Alcaraz came up with a massive, historic upset on Friday afternoon at Arthur Ashe Stadium, and he survived yet another Stefanos Tsitsipas bathroom break to pull it off.
Alcaraz knocked off No. 3 Tsitsipas 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 0-6, 7-6 (7-5) in their third round match, which made the 18-year-old the youngest player to defeat a top-3 player in the world at the US Open since 1973.
The win, by far, marked the biggest of his career — which sparked a massive celebration for the Spanish teenager on the court. He’s now the furthest he’s ever been in a Grand Slam, and has won his first ever top-5 match.
Tsitsipas booed after bathroom break
Alcaraz took control of the match early, and took a 2-1 lead after winning a third set tiebreaker over Tsitsipas.
That’s when, to a chorus of boos from the fans, the Greek star took another bathroom break — something he was slammed for earlier in the tournament by Andy Murray and others.
When he returned to the court nearly five minutes later, Tsitsipas cruised through the fourth set 6-0 to even things back up.
Murray slammed Tsitsipas after their match in the first round, in which Tsitsipas beat Murray with a late rally. Tsitsipas took a bathroom break between the fourth and fifth sets in the nearly five hour match, something that rubbed Murray the wrong way.
“It’s never once taken me that long to go to the toilet, ever,” Murray complained to the chair umpire during the break before he screamed at Tsitsipas to “get up!” after he returned to the court only to sit down and drink water on the bench.
“It’s just disappointing because I feel it influenced the outcome of the match,” Murray said after the match. “I’m not saying I necessarily win that match, for sure, but it had influence on what was happening after those breaks.
“I rate him a lot. I think he’s a brilliant player. I think he’s great for the game, but I have zero time for that stuff at all, and I lost respect for him.”
Tsitsipas denied any allegations that he was cheating by using the bathroom breaks, and he clearly didn’t let it get to him – as he took another one on Friday.
Though he seemingly retook the momentum after his break, it wasn’t enough. Alcaraz survived a tiebreaker in the final set to take the match and make it into the fourth round.
“[His] ball speed was incredible,” Tsitsipas said of Alcaraz, via The New York Times’ Christopher Clarey. “I’ve never seen anybody hit the ball so hard … He can be a contender for Grand Slam titles, and he has the game to be there.”
Alcaraz will now take on Germany’s Peter Gojowczyk in the fourth round. Gojowczyk beat Switzerland’s Henri Laaksonen earlier on Friday 3-6, 6-3, 6-1, 6-4.