Carlos Alcaraz refuses umpire's 'stupid' request at Cincinnati Open in awkward incident

Tennis star Carlos Alcaraz refused to follow an umpire's instructions while competing in the fourth round of the Cincinnati Open.

Ahead of the beginning of the US Open in less than two weeks, many of the best tennis players in the world are competing in the Cincinnati Open to prepare themselves for the major.

The likes of Alcaraz and world number one Jannik Sinner booked their sports in the quarter-finals of the competition, while Novak Djokovic withdraw from competing.

As it stands, it appears likely that Sinner and Alcaraz will face off in the final of the Cincinnati Open in what would be an exciting rematch of their Wimbledon final earlier this summer.

Although both players have had a relatively smooth road to the final so far, Alcaraz caused controversy during his round of 16 match as he refused to listen to the umpire's instructions.

During his match with Italian player Luca Nardi, Alcaraz didn't hold back his frustrations after chair umpire Greg Allensworth took advantage of a break in play and asked the Spaniard to cover the logo on his water bottle.

Allensworth pointed out that the tournament has strict policies with regards to its sponsors and that Alcaraz therefore couldn't show the label for Evian, who he signed an endorsement deal with before Wimbledon.

But Alcaraz clearly annoyed by the request, refusing to comply, leading to controversy online.

Reacting to the moment, one fan wrote on social media: "No one would have noticed, but they brought attention to it by making a big deal about it. So silly."

And one added: "I like how, as humble as Carlos is, he knows he has the swag to just say "no, I'm not gonna do that" to the umpire."

While one fan who claimed to attend the tournament wrote: "They even told the public to remove labels as we entered the grounds...alcaraz wasn't the only person to ignore the demand...it's a ridiculous ask."

However, not all fans agreed with Alcaraz's behaviour, as one stated: "It's business and he knows it. Everyone was removing labels or covering them with stickers and now he is acting shocked. It's just dumb."

Alcaraz remains the second favourite to win the competition behind Sinner, and will face Andrey Rublev in a quarter-final.