Racing
League
Rugby
Cricket
Golf
Olympics
Football
Netball
Motorsport
Combat Sports
Basketball
Other Sports
Sport Nation
Full Noise by SN
'ATP rules are always s--t': Alcaraz fumes
Christian Montegan • May 6th, 2026 1:32 pm
Carlos Alcaraz had a rare outburst in Doha over a time violation involving his towel.
The 22-year-old survived a setback in his quarter-final against Karen Khachanov, eventually finding a way past the big Russian (6-7(3), 6-4, 6-3).
But he wasn't happy with chair umpire Marija Cicak after he copped a time violation for not obeying the 25-second serve clock.
It came after a long rally, with Cicak explaining that she started the serve clock after Alcaraz walked to the back of the court to use his towel.
"I'm not allowed to go to the towel?" an annoyed Alcaraz asked Cicak.
As Alcaraz continued to argue with the umpire, Cicak said: "I stopped the time... I stopped time at 25 seconds when it started. Then you got the towel. Then I started the clock again."
The Spaniard turned to his player box and shouted: "The ATP rules are always st, st. Always the same damn thing." Cicak replied: "I can't invent more time."
Alcaraz will face fifth seed Andrey Rublev for a spot in the final of the 500-tier event.
In the late match, world No.2 Jannik Sinner was stunned in three sets by last year's Miami Masters champion Jakub Menšík.
