Alcaraz throws away match point to lose first match in Montreal to Paul
ATP
It could have been an easy job for Carlos Alcaraz in his first match at the 2022 Canadian Open in Montreal against Tommy Paul, but he eventually lost after having a match point.
Alcaraz entered the draw of the ATP Masters 1000 event in Montreal as the second seed, and he was one of the biggest favorites to triumph in Canada. However, Tommy Paul proved to be a good challenger for the Spaniard in the second round of the tournament.
Like all the top seeded players, Alcaraz had a first-round bye at the tournament, while Paul already played one match at the event, beating Canada's Vasek Pospisil, 6-4, 6-4. That match could have proven to be an advantage early in Paul's meeting with Alcaraz, but that wasn't the case.
In the first set, it was the teenage sensation from Spain who got the first break, but he was immediately broken back, and after the Spaniard faced three more break points in the set, players reached the tie-break, as he saved all of them.
Escaping in the best possible way, Alcaraz was able to win the tie-break 7-4, despite being on the verge of being broken multiple times during the first set of the match.
In the second set, Alcaraz already enjoyed a 4-1 lead, and it seemed that he would easily win the match, but he shockingly lost the lead, and his opponent was even serving for the set.
But the Spaniard kept his cool, and fans in Montreal witnessed yet another tie-break. The tie-break was full of mini-breaks as both players lost their serve every time from 1-2 until 5-5.
Yet, the World No. 4 player couldn't use his match point at 6-5 and lost the tie-break 7-9, sending the match into the decider, which he could have avoided.
In the third set, Alcaraz had multiple break points once more, but it was again Paul who won the set 6-3 to advance to the third round of the tournament, beating Alcaraz 6-7(4), 7-6(7), 6-3.
