Carlos Alcaraz was unhappy with umpire Marija Cicak over a time violation call and briefly entered into an altercation with her during his quarterfinal match against Karen Khachanov at the Qatar Open. The issue arose in the first set when Alcaraz was about to serve with the advantage at 4-4.
Former WTA pro Andrea Petkovic gave her honest take on the incident that took place on Thursday night. On Tennis Channel, she argued that it was a bit “strange” for Alcaraz to argue with the chair umpire, that he had no idea who Cicak was, and that she is really strict.
“It seems so out of character from what we’re used to seeing from Carlos Alcaraz. It was a little strange. Also, maybe he doesn’t know Marija Cicak well. She’s mostly chair-umpired on the WTA side. We all know how strict she is. You don’t want to get into an argument with her. She will destroy you mentally and emotionally,” Petkovic said.
Apparently, Cicak argued that she had started the clock but then stopped it at 25 seconds when she saw Alcaraz still celebrating the point after a grueling rally with the Russian. She then restarted it when Alcaraz went to get his towel, resulting in a time violation warning for the additional time used before his next serve.
Alcaraz was evidently unhappy at the decision and contested it, while asking for an explanation for the same from the chair umpire. After a brief altercation with Cicak, the Spaniard then resumed with his service game, ultimately sealing a thrilling come-from-behind win against Khachanov with a score of 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-3.
Carlos Alcaraz To Face Another Russian In Qatar Open SF
With the thrilling win over Karen Khachanov, Carlos Alcaraz has now advanced to the semifinals, where he will take on yet another Russian in the face of tournament five seed Andrey Rublev. The Spaniard’s biggest rival, Jannik Sinner, has been dumped out of the tournament by Jakub Mensik in the quarterfinals, which gives the reigning Australian Open champion a superb chance to seal his first ATP crown of the season.
The youngest man in tennis to complete a career Grand Slam, Alcaraz has started the new year on a significant high, proving his critics wrong on all fronts, and now aims to carry the positive momentum into the final two matches of the Qatar Open. After Doha, the World No. 1 is set to skip the Acapulco and Dubai Open and directly play at Indian Wells (Masters 1000), starting on March 2.
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