"Not they silenced Victoria Azarenka on Mother's Day??" - Carlos Alcaraz wishing his mother after Madrid title draws amused reactions from tennis fans

Carlos Alcaraz wished his mother a happy Mother's Day during his Madrid Open victory speech, which drew some hilarious reactions from tennis fans.

The Spaniard successfully defended his title at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament, defeating Jan-Lennard Struff in three sets in Sunday's final. In addition to Struff, Alcaraz took down the likes of Grigor Dimitrov, Alexander Zverev and Bornic Coric to register his fourth title of the year.

Speaking at the presentation ceremony afterwards, the World No. 2 took the opportunity to wish his mother on Mother's Day -- which is celebrated on the second Sunday of May in most European countries.

But the coincidental turn of events just prior to Alcaraz's speech made the whole situation ironic for many.

One day before the final between Alcaraz and Struff, Victoria Azarenka and Beatriz Haddad Maia lost to top seeds Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula in the women's doubles final. However, neither pair was allowed to speak at the award presentation, which caused an uproar on social media.

When reminded of the special day by Alcaraz's speech, fans on Twitter accused the Madrid Open organization of preventing Azarenka and the others from speaking on Mother's Day.

"Not they silenced [Victoria Azarenka] on MOTHER'S DAY???????" one user wrote.

"Ironic... when they stopped a mother to give her champion speech. Nothing against Carlos Alcaraz," another fan tweeted.

Here are a few more reactions from fans:

Victoria Azarenka had herself expressed her displeasure about being denied the chance to speak after her Madrid Open win. Taking to Twitter, she had lamented that it was hard to explain to her son Leo why she didn't say hello to him at the trophy ceremony.

"Hard to explain to Leo that mommy isn’t able to say hello to him at the trophy ceremony," Azarenka had said.

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Carlos Alcaraz set to become World No. 1 after Italian Open

Carlos Alcaraz at the Mutua Madrid Open

Carlos Alcaraz is set to become the World No. 1 after the conclusion of the 2023 Italian Open. The Spaniard currently trails Novak Djokovic by five points. But with the Serb defending 1,000 ranking points in Rome and Alcaraz defending nothing, the teenager will soar to the top of the ATP rankings at the end of the Masters 1000 event, irrespective of his results.

Alcaraz, therefore, will be guaranteed the top seed at the French Open, where he will be one of the prime favorites alongside Novak Djokovic and 14-time winner Rafael Nadal. With Nadal seeded outside the top 10, it will be interesting to see if he and Alcaraz get drawn into an early battle at the tournament.