(Tennis news) In 2023, Paul surpassed predictions and had unprecedented success. The American shocked every tennis fan at the start of the year when he advanced to the Australian Open quarterfinals, where he fell to 10-time champion Novak Djokovic.
Since then, the World No. 13 has kept up his impressive play, coming in second place at three ATP events and reaching the quarterfinals in Toronto last week. To accomplish the latter achievement, he had to defeat Alcaraz, the current Wimbledon champion, in a convincing 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 triumph.
With victories over Ugo Humbert and Miomir Kecmanovic in straight sets to advance to the Round of 16 at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament for the first time in his career, Paul is in excellent form in Cincinnati.
Alcaraz, however, has had trouble adjusting to hard courts after playing on grass courts. He was unable to maintain the form that enabled him to defeat adversary Djokovic in five arduous sets, falling to Paul in the 2023 Canadian Open quarterfinals.
The Spaniard struggled mightily in his opening match against Jordan Thompson, losing the second set to the Australian in a disorganised performance. However, he was able to gather himself in the decisive game and go on to win the match 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 and progress to Cincinnati’s Round of 16.
Head-to-Head
Tommy Paul has a 2-1 advantage over Carlos Alcaraz in their previous encounters. The Spaniard easily overcame Paul on the way to winning this year’s Indian Wells Masters, despite the fact that Paul had won their previous two meetings at the Canadian Open.
Predictions
Like his Spanish rival, Tommy Paul has a powerful forehand and brisk footwork. The American is also remarkably consistent from the baseline and, with to his lethal groundstrokes, is able to alter shot direction on the fly. Ahead of the titanic match with the current World No. 1 in Cincinnati, he has also won 83% of his first-serve points.
Alcaraz, on the other hand, has been struggling lately despite playing well. Having made 32 winners and 41 unforced errors in his previous encounter, the 20-year-old will need to change up his strategy if he wants to stay in Cincinnati.
Having saying that, there might not be much the American can do to put out Alcaraz if he does find the form that has seen him romp to a 50-5 win-loss record in 2023. Paul can match his younger opponent pound-for-pound from the back of the court, although it should be noted that during lengthier rallies, he is prone to putting in a few short balls.
The two-time Major champion has a devastating drop shot to terminate baseline rallies and doesn’t struggle as much as the 26-year-old does to create depth on his shots. If he doesn’t commit a lot of unusual unforced errors, he will probably defeat his American opponent.
Alcaraz to win in 2 sets
