2023-08-12 01:53:51
(Toronto) The air of the North is good for Tommy Paul. For the second year in a row, the American shows the way out to Carlos Alcaraz at the National Bank Open. Except this time he didn’t just beat Alcaraz. He beat the world number one.
Updated yesterday at 11:30 p.m.
The story was already almost completely written before the game even started. “Carlos Alcaraz continues his journey in a table that has become wide open”, might have been read in all the Toronto tabloids the day following this quarter-final match.
However, Paul changed the narrative not only of the evening, but of the 2023 edition of the National Bank Open, with his victory in three sets of 6-3, 4-6 and 6-3, Friday evening.
After all, nothing tilted in favor of the American.
He was facing the best player in the world, freshly crowned Wimbledon champion, accustomed to big moments and center court in Toronto and a favorite of the Toronto crowd, even more than some Canadian players.
PHOTO FRANK GUNN, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Carlos Alcaraz
But Paul does not know fear. As if he had plugged his ears to avoid being distracted by an atmosphere favoring his rival.
“I like to play once morest all the players who are a big challenge,” he said following the game in his New Balance uniform. [Carlos] is of course the best player in the world, and when I have the opportunity to play on center court, I love it! »
You have to be almost perfect to beat an Alcaraz in full possession of its means. He wasn’t, but neither was the Spaniard. And that’s what tipped the scales.
Stay yourself
He may be ranked 14th in the world, but Paul might have walked to center court, and no one would have approached him. Without his access card, we might not even have let him in.
With his backwards cap, his not very flamboyant attitude and his natural relaxation, Paul looks like everyone else. However, you have to be exceptional to beat the most prominent man on the tennis planet.
PHOTO FRANK GUNN, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Tommy Paul
But it’s as if Paul didn’t care. He’s in Toronto to win his first title in nearly two years, and nothing and no one will be able to convince him that he doesn’t belong in the big leagues.
“He’s such a complete player,” admitted Alcaraz. All the matches we have played have been difficult. He is very solid. He has a great talent and he is very fast. He’s one of the best players in the world right now. He is very calm too. »
From the first game of the match, the 25-year-old smashed Alcaraz. Just because he found the loophole, he repeated the experiment in the seventh and ninth games of the set. At the end of it, Paul had just put the best player in the world in his little back pocket as few players have done this season.
And not necessarily because he played to beat Alcaraz, but because he played to win. As he had done once morest Diego Schwartzman, once morest Francisco Cerundolo and once morest Marcos Giron, earlier in the tournament. A quiet look, a reserved confidence and an adjusted aplomb. Everything is calculated with Paul, but he does it so organically.
“From the start of the match, I played super offensive, but in the second set, it was he who became more offensive and I was on my heels. At that time, I wanted to increase my first-serve performance and at the same time hit more balls. »
His break in the third set, to make it 4-2, completely unseated Alcaraz. His smash on the penultimate play was like an exclamation mark before the sentence ended.
Three times, Alcaraz found himself with all four irons in the air. Paul is one of a kind and that turned the Spaniard’s game upside down, even causing his loss.
Work to do
Alcaraz may be the best player in the world, but the 20-year-old still has some flaws in his game. At least he’s not perfect yet. Which is completely normal.
“I still have things to learn. First, that I can be better in all aspects. [..] Is […] have to be even more confident,” he explained.
PHOTO FRANK GUNN, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Carlos Alcaraz
Nevertheless, even if Paul won this confrontation with dignity, it would be wrong to suggest that he did so once morest an Alcaraz at the top of his game.
The Spaniard hadn’t played a match since Wimbledon before arriving in Toronto, and it caught up with him. The day before, once morest Hubert Hurkacz, he had been broken from the start. Same thing once morest Paul. He committed six double faults on Friday night.
Even if, in terms of statistics, he generally came out better, it is more in the pace, the rhythm and the choice of game that Alcaraz seemed different. Something was stuck, but hard to say what exactly.
Still, the game almost changed when the young prodigy served a spectacular blow, face the game and between the legs in parallel to make it 3-3 in the second set and to break Paul in the next game.
At this time, the crowd rose to applaud him. And she didn’t find her seat until the start of the other point. The Spaniard thought he had the wind in his sails from there: “Yes! With that, I increased my level. It might have been a key moment in the game. »
For his part, Paul said that “Carlos made sure that I was everywhere on Tennis TV”, regarding this move as impressive as the stage costumes of Julie Snyder at the time of the Point J. Not just for the perfect execution, but for the greatness of when he chose to go with that strike.
No matter the outcome, Carlito will remain Carlito. His ability to answer questions, his availability and his ability to listen will have been the same all week in Toronto. He greets the journalists before and following his press briefing and he makes sure to fully understand each question, in English and in Spanish, even if it means repeating them, to give an adequate answer.
If it is in defeat that champions learn, it also counts for their attitude off the pitch. Even if he doesn’t lose often anymore, Alcaraz has learned a lot, because even if his week was shorter than expected, he remains irreproachable.
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