Carlos Alcaraz reached the quarter-finals in Paris after his victory over Ben Shelton, as he continues his title defence at Roland Garros.
Alcaraz defeated Shelton over four sets, 7-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, in a hard-hitting clash to book his place in the last eight for the fourth year in a row.
The Spaniard will face Tommy Paul in the next round, who he beat at Stade Roland Garros at the Paris Olympics last year.
In his match with Shelton, Alcaraz won a point with an illegal shot, which he immediately conceded to the umpire.
Many watching the match would have been unaware of the rule that dictated his decision, including WTA number three Jessica Pegula, who admitted she had no idea about it.
Jessica Pegula learnt a new rule during Carlos Alcaraz’s match against Ben Shelton
After Alcaraz approached the net during a point, Shelton hit a cross-court forehand, which the Spaniard lunged to get.
To make the shot, the second seed let go of his racket, which connected with the ball and resulted in a winner.
As stated on the TNT Sports commentary, the point didn’t count as the player must have the racket in their hands when playing a shot.
That was news to America’s Pegula, who took to social media to say: “Oh just me not knowing this was a rule.”
Carlos Alcaraz speaks about his illegal shot against Ben Shelton
In his post-match press conference, Alcaraz said of the situation: “I thought I couldn’t have said anything, but I would have felt guilty if I didn’t say anything about it.
“If I know that I did 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’s supposed to be like this. To be fair with the opponent, with yourself.
“I said it because I knew that it was an illegal shot. In the first set, Ben hit a serve that touched the net, the umpire didn’t see it, and he said to me we can repeat it if you want.
“It’s just about the respect we have for each other, and I think the sport in general should be like this.”
Alcaraz is the defending champion at Roland Garros, having won a maiden Paris crown last year.
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