Carlos Alcaraz showed true sportsmanship during the face-off with Ben Shelton at the French Open as he called himself for breaking rules.
According to NBC Sports, the defending champion beat Shelton 7-6 (8), 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 over the weekend to claim victory in the fourth round at Roland-Garros.
But the highlight of the match was when Alcaraz showed sportsmanship and told the umpire when he broke the rule.
Early in the second set, the American player hit a passing shot that Spaindrad could not reach, but he threw his racket and luckily hit the ball and sent it back over the net. Alcaraz was awarded a point, but he went to the umpire and said that he was not holding the racket when it touched the ball.
Since he was not holding his racket, the point was then given to Shelton. When the crowd at the Court Philippe-Chatrier learnt about the matter, Alcaraz was given a round of applause.
Alcaraz praises Shelton as ‘a great person’
During a post-match conference, the 22-year-old praised the American seeded 13th, saying, “Apart from being a great player, he’s also a great person. We get along super well. Of course on the court there are no friends; we both want to win, and we’ll both do our best to defeat the other. But it’s also important to know how to accept a defeat, even though it hurts.”
After the match ended, both of the players approached the net with smiling faces and showed respect for each other.
Alcaraz will now face American tennis player Tommy Paul in the French Open quarter-finals on Tuesday.
