"Why should it be covered? It’s not my fault." - Alcaraz refuses to comply with umpire in heated argument at Cincinnati Open

Carlos Alcaraz confirmed his place in the quarter-finals last night at the Cincinnati Open after defeating Italian Luca Nardi 6-1, 6-4. It did not come without its controversy, with the Spaniard finding himself in an altercation with umpire Greg Allensworth after he was ordered to cover up the logo on his bottle.

The drama arose when the 5-time Grand Slam winner took a drinks break in between games. He started drinking from a water bottle with an Evian label stuck to it, which caught the umpire's eye of and went to intervene. Sponsorship rules for the event specify that G&J Pepsi are the official food and drink partner of the Cincinnati Open, who also produce Aquafina water. Alcaraz was bemused by the request, and argued against Allensworth, with him personally being sponsored by the water brand.

Allenswoth started the conversation, picked up by TV cameras, by saying: “This is what we’ve been told because of the logos and the sponsors.” Alcaraz responded: "But it’s not my fault. Why should it be covered? It’s not my fault."

"What is it for? Why do I have to cover it as if it is my fault?" The umpire took blame for the situation, as he said: "It’s my fault because I did not catch it sooner." Alcaraz firmly persisted with his decision of not covering it before going back out and playing, as he said: "So because (it’s) your fault, I have to cover it? It doesn’t work like this… I’m not going to cover it."

This is a rare incident of players and tournament brands clashing, with the 22-year-old's stubbornness showing through.

Outside of that debacle, it was a relatively comfortable win for Alcaraz. He broke early on to take a commanding 3-0 lead. Nardi held to-love to get one back, but the Spaniard would go ahead and snatch the next three games to go one set up.

He did fall behind in the second set after the Italian broke the serve to go 4-2 ahead, but Alcaraz replied in ruthless fashion. He broke straight back and won seven consecutive points in the process. At 4-4, it took eight deuces to eventually decide the game. Alcaraz would eventually take his fifth break point before winning his second match point to come out on top.

After the match, Alcaraz said: "You have to think positively and just play your best tennis possible that day. I'm really happy that in really difficult matches I'm able to play my best tennis even though I'm not feeling the right way. I'm just happy and proud about it because it's something I'm working on."

This is Alcaraz's first tournament since the disappointing loss in the Wimbledon final. He has already disposed of Damir Dzumhur and Hamad Madjedovic this week. His win over Naldi is his 50th win of the calendar year, setting up a quarter-final tie against Russian Andrey Rublev.

Alcaraz is currently on a hot-streak of form. Since the beginning of the clay season, he has competed in 38 matches, only losing twice - Hoger Rune in the Barcelona final and Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon. In this run, he has won two Masters 1000 titles at Monte-Carlo and Rome, a grass title at Queens along with his triumph at Roland Garros for his second consecutive clay Grand Slam.

He has the potential of a rematch against Sinner in the final of Cincinnati if they both make it that far. The Italian boasts a 10-0 record on hard courts this year, and last lost on one to the Spaniard last October in Shanghai.