Carlos Alcaraz got revenge for his loss to Tommy Paul in Toronto last week with a wild third-round win over the American in less than ideal blustery and rain-interrupted conditions.
Carlos Alcaraz’s 7-6(6), 6-7(0), 6-3 win over Tommy Paul in at the Western & Southern Open on Thursday night proves that a tennis match doesn’t have to be good to be great. And it WAS great. The crowd was transfixed, enthralled by the budding rivalry between Alcaraz and Paul that has proven to be both unpredictable and unexpectedly competitive.
Alcaraz is the heir apparent, of course. He’s the player expected to take the mantle from Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal when they finally stop winning majors. He has already won two slams and he only just turned 20. He’s prime time. He’s Centre Court Wimbledon. Paul…is not.
And yet the world No. 13 still gives Alcaraz all kinds of trouble–and not the flukey kind of trouble when a player is playing out of his or her mind for one match. It’s..trouble trouble–the sort that promises to be a hassle each time they play.
Their third round in Cincy on Thursday wasn’t good, though–which is to say the quality vacillated wildly from diabolical to brilliant…and back to diabolical again. There were a whopping six breaks of serve in the second set alone, a surprising statistic especially given how quick the courts are playing this year.
Certainly some of the quality issues were due to the wind, but mostly it’s just what Alcaraz and Paul do to each other. The fans on site didn’t care one bit, of course. Despite all of that, It was the match of the tournament so far. Grins, gasps, and a couple standing ovations. This match had it all.
Asked how he was able to stay focused after the three missed match points with Paul serving at 5-6 to in the second, Alcaraz said, “Well, we have to clean, you know, that and the other things that came into my mind in that moment. Obviously I had a lot of breakpoints, and I just did 5, if I’m not wrong, and I had, like, 16, something like that, you know, so it was tough…. I have to be positive and say positive things to me.”
Alcaraz will take on qualifier Max Purcell of Australia in the quarterfinals.
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nice one, Carlos