Carlos Alcaraz destroys his racket during historic loss to Gael Monfils in Cincinnati

MASON, Ohio — In a tournament littered with upsets thus far, Friday reached a new level at the Cincinnati Open.

Veteran Gael Monfils (ranked No. 46 in the world), who hadn't won a set in two previous matchups against Carlos Alcaraz, resumed play against the World No. 3 Friday on Center Court having dropped the first set Thursday night.

Monfils quickly won a second-set tiebreaker then held serve throughout the third set to finish off a 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 victory over the reigning Cincinnati Open runner-up.

"I felt like it was the worst match that I've ever played in my career," Alcaraz said in his post-match press conference.

The 37-year-old Monfils is the second-oldest player to defeat a top-3 player this century, trailing only Roger Federer, who at 38 defeated Novak Djokovic in the 2019 Nitto ATP Finals. Monfils was 8-30 all-time against top-3 players heading into the matchup with Alcaraz.

When play resumed Friday, Alcaraz, who is chasing a return to the top of the ATP rankings, couldn't find the form that put him on the doorstep of a quarterfinal berth the night before.

The 21-year-old phenom destroyed a racket after Monfils held serve for a 3-1 lead in the third set and couldn't break the elder Frenchman, who is one victory away from his first Cincinnati Open quarterfinals appearance since 2011.

"I don't know what happened," Alcaraz said, adding that Center Court was faster than the surfaces on previous practice sessions. "I couldn't control myself. I couldn't be better. So this match, it was impossible to win, and that's all."

Alcaraz heads to New York, Monfils plays again Friday

Alcaraz needed at least a quarterfinals berth in Cincinnati to pass Novak Djokovic for the No. 2 spot in the ATP Rankings. Now staying put at No. 3, Alcaraz heads to New York looking to win his second U.S. Open in three years.

Monfils will play during Friday's night session against Holger Rune for a spot in the Cincinnati Open quarterfinals.

► The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast.Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.