(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.
The story was almost written in full before the game even started. “Carlos Alcaraz continues his journey in a table that has become wide open”, could have been read in all the tabloids in Toronto the day after 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.
But Paul does not know fear. As if he had put plugs in his ears to avoid being distracted by an atmosphere favoring his rival.
“I like playing all the players who are a big challenge,” he said after 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.
He may be No. 14 in the world, but Paul could 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 unflamboyant attitude and his natural relaxation, Paul looks like everyone. However, you have to be exceptional to beat the most prominent man on the tennis planet.
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,” Alcaraz said. 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 like few players have done this season.
And not necessarily because he played to beat Alcaraz, but because he played to win. As he did against Diego Schwartzman, against Francisco Cerundolo and against 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 game I played super offensive, but in the second set he was the one 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.
Alcaraz may be the best player in the world, but the 20-year-old still has a few 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. [..] I […] have to be more confident again,” he explained.
Nevertheless, even if Paul won this confrontation with dignity, it would be wrong to suggest that he did it against 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, against Hubert Hurkacz, he had been broken from the start. Same thing against Paul. He committed six double faults on Friday night.
Even if, in terms of statistics, he came out better overall, it was more in the pace, rhythm and choice of play that Alcaraz seemed different. Something was stuck, but hard to say what exactly.
Still, the match almost changed when the young prodigy served a spectacular blow, facing 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 moment, the crowd rose to applaud him. And she did not find her seat until the start of the other point. The Spaniard thought he had wind in his sails from there: “Yes! With that, I increased my level. It could have been a key moment in the game. »
For his part, Paul said that “Carlos made sure I was everywhere on Tennis TV”, about this stunt as impressive as Julie Snyder’s stage costumes during the J-Point era. 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 after his press briefing and he makes sure to fully understand each question, in English and Spanish, even if it means having to repeat, 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.
