The New Jersey player already eliminated the Spaniard in the round of 16 of the Montreal tournament in 2022
MADRID, 12 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz lost this Saturday morning 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 against American Tommy Paul in the quarterfinals of the Toronto (Canada) tournament, the sixth ATP Masters 1000 of the season and which dispute on hard courts, repeating the defeat against his executioner last year with the alternation of the contest in Montreal.
In his challenge to lead the ATP ranking with the greatest distance if he takes advantage of the absence of Serbian Novak Djokovic in this tournament, Alcaraz once again demonstrated his discomfort at Sobeys Stadium. And it is that he was in tow from the beginning, since Paul broke his first turn of service and consolidated said advantage immediately (2-0).
With quick movements and looking for the inverted forehand shot, the player from Voorhees (New Jersey) barely faltered in his next service turns. He skilfully saved a break point in the fourth game (3-1) and broke the opponent’s serve again in the seventh (5-2); and he did not mind giving up the eighth, as he closed the first set after a double fault from Alcaraz.
40 minutes had elapsed, the Murcian could not find inspiration and his catalog of blows did not shine. He even looked angry, throwing the racket against his bench at the break between sets. It was not a good sign for the start of the second set, in which Paul took the lead (1-0, 2-1) and also enjoyed a breaking ball in the fourth game.
Alcaraz got out of the mess with one of his fetishes, the left, at a key moment; Despite the fact that the American returned the ball, the man from El Palmar finished well up and then kept that service (2-2). He then began the rush in the stands, waiting to see if the number 1 in the world was brewing a comeback or if he was a simple feint.
Although Paul responded by winning in the fifth game (3-2), something had changed in the environment and it was reflected immediately. The man from Palma became serious, which paradoxically in his case means smiling, and won the sixth game in white (3-3) with one last scandalous point. Thanks to a ‘willy’, in tennis jargon, he equalized the score and irritated his opponent.
He linked another blank game to the rest (3-4) and completed his comeback in this duel, saving up to three break points in the eighth chapter (3-5). He was close in the ninth to score the set, thanks to a 30-40 that Paul fixed with an ‘ace’; but nothing changed, the man from El Palmar went straight to partial victory and achieved it in white right after with his service.
PAUL RECOVERS IN TIME
The scares for the man from Voorhees had not passed, since he faced a ‘break’ ball against him in the opening game of the third set. He saved it fortunately, because Alcaraz touched the ball with the ‘shank’ of the racket when he was trying to hit an inverted forehand hard. He had copied parts of the strategy from his rival, so he also changed his plan.
The American’s motto was to open more angles and not hit the ball so much, which helped him to have his own opportunity to break; he did not transform it because a ‘drive’ went long, but he did temper his spirits. After the 1-1 draw, Paul claimed the third and fifth innings in white (3-2), generating momentum that he took advantage of to break in the sixth and consolidate his lead in the seventh (5-2).
The man from Palma fulfilled his mission of pressing until the end, took his service (5-3) and passed the ‘ballot’ to his opponent. Already in the ninth game, Paul shone with a backhand passing shot and a looting shot, making up to two options to certify victory. In the second he closed the set and the duel in his favor, after running to another bad shot from an Alcaraz who did not get a slice of that blow.
After 2 hours and 21 minutes on the pitch, the man from Voorhees got a ticket to the semifinals, the first for him in a Masters 1000 level contest. Now, in said round, he will face the winner of the match between the Frenchman Gaël Monfils and the Italian Jannik Sinner.
2023-08-12 01:50:58
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