Carlos Alcaraz faced off against Frances Tiafoe at the Charlotte Invitational, marking his second event in just three days. Before heading to Charlotte, Alcaraz had been in New York for The Garden Cup, where he triumphed over Ben Shelton at Madison Square Garden and aimed to defeat another American player.
The two players are known for their friendly banter during interviews and press events, showcasing a strong bond outside of tennis. On the court, both are entertaining athletes who thrilled the 16,200 fans gathered in Charlotte with their skills.
Before they played, Sloane Stephens and Madison Keys had a rematch from their 2017 US Open final. This time around, Keys started strong by leading 4-3 but faced a break point. She saved it with an impressive backhand shot down the line but couldn’t secure the set immediately. Stephens fought back to tie it at 5-5 before Keys ultimately claimed the first set 7-5.
| Name | Age | Points | Stats 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| es Carlos Alcaraz | 21 | 68,791 | 25 - 5 |
Exciting Matches and Unexpected Moments:
Keys began the second set by breaking Stephens’ serve early on. As she led 3-2 at deuce, something unexpected happened: Stephens invited a ball girl onto the court who won a rally against Keys! Fans might think this was quite amusing as it gave Stephens a break point opportunity.
Despite this fun twist, Keys maintained her dominance and secured victory with scores of 7-5 and 6-3. Afterward came the men’s match where Tiafoe started energetically but found himself tied with Alcaraz at four games each after eight rounds.
Alcaraz took that opening set with some thrilling rallies full of tweeners and underarm serves that delighted tennis enthusiasts everywhere. In between sets—surprisingly enough—celebrities like Andy Dalton and Steve Smith Sr., both associated with Carolina Panthers football team fame joined in on court antics!
Tiafoe rallied back fiercely during an exciting second set which he won decisively (6-1), pushing them into an intense super tie-breaker showdown. While Alcaraz had previously battled Shelton through three sets successfully; this time around luck wasn’t on his side as Tiafoe emerged victorious (5-7;6–1;11–9).
Post-match vibes remained positive between these two competitors—with Tiafoe particularly elated about performing before such large crowds typically reserved for Charlotte Hornets basketball games:
“It’s nice getting this guy outta way,” joked Tiafoe afterward.”It was time he lost some match…it was unbelievable—I hope y’all enjoyed! Me n’ Carlos tried putting up show…16k people came watch me—not caring bout Carlos [laughter].”
What do you think about these matches?
