Carlos Alcaraz bested Tommy Paul in an exciting Wimbledon clash a few weeks ago, and now he did the same at the 2024 Paris Olympics in another thrilling matchup.
The young Spaniard has been one of the best-performing players in recent weeks, and a close second would be Paul. The American has enjoyed the most successful season of his career so far, with impressive performances across the board.
His efforts propelled him to the American number one spot on the ATP Tour, which was a huge achievement for him, but obviously, the most important thing would be to win trophies and win a medal in the French capital.
To find himself in contention for medals, Paul had to win the quarter-final match against the second seed, but unfortunately for him, much like at Wimbledon, Alcaraz was able to beat him.
It started well for the American player, who had break points immediately in the first game, but not converting those proved to be problematic. After saving those break points, Alcaraz could settle into his rhythm and easily overpower his opponent in the coming games.
It was fascinating how well Alcaraz has been playing because Paul has been one of the world's best players in many ways. His style of play is risky, but he's been making it work for a while now.
He hit the ball hard, hitting some great winners overall, yet it was not even close enough to dethrone the Spanish prodigy. When Alcaraz settled into his rhythm, he completely dominated the match and never really looked in any trouble.
He served exceptionally well, a trend that's been going on for a few weeks now. His serving opened up his game even further, allowing him to dominate even better than before, winning the first set 6-3.
He also hit some incredible shots in big moments, which has always been his signature. The Spaniard also wanted an early break in the second set, but Paul navigated a tricky situation to win the first game of the second set.
He then broke Alcaraz's serve in the next game and held firm to make it 3-0. It was a dreadful start of the set for the World No. 3, who lost his serve and pressed a bit too much, ending up with more double faults than aces.
He was also missing a lot, which wasn't the case in the opening set, but as always, he can't be counted out. Despite seemingly being against the wall and down 4-5, Alcaraz could still stage a comeback and break back just when Paul was trying to close it out.
He started to hit a bit better towards the end of the set, which was crucial in breaking back. The set ended up in a tie-break as neither player could create any pressure, but Alcaraz had the slight advantage as he had a set in hand.
Both won their first serves as the match continued to be competitive. Alcaraz broke first and took a 5-3 lead, but Paul pulled it back to 6-6. In the end, the Spaniard still won the tie-break 9-7 to win the match 6-3, 7-6(9) to reach the semi-finals of the 2024 Paris Olympics, meaning he will play at least two more matches, fighting for a medal.