Gaël Monfils completes Carlos Alcaraz upset after rain delay in ...

Upon the match’s resumption, Monfils maintained his mini-break advantage to earn three set points, converting his third to bring the crowd to its feet.

The third set began with close serve games for both players, but it was Monfils who saved two break points on his own serve to turn the tables on Alcaraz, whose frustration uncharacteristically boiled over on falling behind a break.

The No. 2 seed destroyed his racquet as Monfils consolidated a 3-1 lead and closed in on the upset. Coach Juan Carlos Ferrero encouraged Alcaraz to stay calm but Monfils kept the pressure on, forcing the youngster to serve to stay in the match.

On the brink of defeat, Alcaraz outrallied Monfils to avoid match point on serve but Monfils rose to the occasion on his own, engineering two match points from the back of the court. With one last big serve, Monfils edged over the finish line to reach his first quarterfinal in the Queen City, signing the camera with a sweet message to daughter Skaï.

Monfils will be back on court later in the afternoon to take on No. 15 Holger Rune, who advanced in straight sets over Nuno Borges on Thursday.