At Wimbledon in the quarters, Carlos Alcaraz beat Tommy Paul 5-7, 6-2, 6-2, 6-2. It may looked like that Alcaraz was playing fantastic, but Paul folded, as he was very tired. There are no excuses, yet in the Grand Slams, if you have to play for many hours, then eventually, your body can break down, and it is gone.
Cleary the Spaniard is a better player, as Alcaraz has risen so high, winning four Grand Slams, including the 2024 Wimbledon. He also won Roland Garros, too, so when he is on fire, he can do almost anything.
Paul has also improved a lot, yet the Olympics Paris is going on, so on Thursday, there should be a terrific match. Paul has beaten him twice, in Canada, in the summer on the hardcourts, but Alcaraz beat the American in Miami and Cincinnati. That is very close, but they have yet to face off on the clay, so the No. 3 Alcaraz is the favorite.
Why? Because when he is feeling it, then he can race off. Plus, his forehand, his backhand, and at the net, is in control. Three weeks ago, he nailed it.
“He kind of dictated the points and ended up dictating the outcome. He played awesome and played quick,” the No. 13 Paul said. “It was hard for me to kind of get ahead in points. He played first-strike tennis better than I did. He got on offense way quicker. He moves unbelievably well. He’s probably the quickest player. It’s very hard to get the ball by him.”
That didn’t happen, even on the grass, but now, Paul will have to rally, during the points, and changed it up, early. Paul will have to use his first serve, and try to crush it, in the corners. He really wants to go deep, but he knows that if he can to try to grab the Olympic Gold, then he is going to have to fly into the moon. He might not win, but he can create it, and make it into the third set. And then, who knows?
“When [Alcaraz] starts building energy and building momentum, it feels a little bit different than most of the other guys. He can play some seriously amazing, amazing tennis.”