Carlos Alcaraz offered a standout moment of sportsmanship on Sunday during his fourth-round match against Ben Shelton at Roland Garros, where he called a foul on himself at a crucial moment at the start of the second set.
Serving at 7-6(8), 0-0, 30/30, the defending champion approached the net off a forehand and placed a volley into the open court.
Shelton scrambled and fired a powerful crosscourt forehand, forcing Alcaraz to stretch fully for the reply.
The Spaniard managed to make contact and appeared to hit a clean volley winner.
The point was initially awarded to Alcaraz, but the 22-year-old immediately alerted the umpire that he had lost his grip on the racquet mid-stretch and had made contact with the ball while it was no longer in his hand.
By the rules, that meant the point belonged to Shelton.
In his post-match press conference, Alcaraz was asked if he thought about keeping quiet.
“You know, I have to say, I thought, ‘OK, I could not say anything,’ but I would have felt guilty if I didn’t say anything about it,” he replied.
“It’s just about if I know that I did a wrong thing, wrong shots, or an illegal shot, I have to say. I have to be honest with myself. I have to be honest with Ben, with everyone.
“I think that’s the sport, or [it] should be like this,” he continued.
“Just to be fair with the opponent, with yourself. I said it because I knew that it was an illegal shot. It shouldn’t be allowed, so that’s why I said it.”
Despite conceding the point, Alcaraz regrouped quickly and held serve, saving six break points.
In discussing the incident, Alcaraz also noted a moment of sportsmanship from Shelton that went under the radar in the opening set: “Ben had another thing, for example. His serve touched the net. The umpire didn’t [call] it, and [Shelton] asked me, ‘We can repeat it if you want.’
“So, it’s just about the respect we have for each other, and I think that sports in general should be like this.”
Defending champion Alcaraz ultimately defeated Shelton 7-6(8), 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 to book his quarter-final spot in the French capital.
The No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings will next face Tommy Paul. [atptour.com]
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