With the world No. 1 ranking under threat and the wounds of an early Canadian Open exit still fresh from the previous week, the Tommy Paul encounter on Thursday held utmost importance for Carlos Alcaraz who gears up for tougher challenges in his bid to defending his US Open crown. But the young Spaniard did not just battle rain delay at Cincinnati Masters but also bounced from the low in Toronto to avenge his loss against the American in a three-hour, 10 minute third-round triumph.
It was exactly a week back when Paul denied Alcaraz's bid to a maiden Canadian Open win as he halted his run in the quarterfinal face-off. The world No. 14 did prove to be a tough opponent yet again, having secured two wins against the 20-year-old, both of which came in Canada in a space of 12 months, but Alcaraz managed to crack the code in Ohio in a nerve-wracking encounter to prevail 7-6(6), 6-7(0), 6-3 and reach the quarters.
ALSO READ: Top seeds Carlos Alcaraz, Iga Swiatek overcome adversity to advance to quarterfinals at Cincinnati Masters
While the eventual win against Paul, which helped him keep his hold over the world No. 1 title as of now and build towards a first-ever title win in Cincinnati, remained the cynosure, the highlight of the match was however an insane point which he scripted in the second set which left him stupefied as well.
It had happened in the 12th game of the second set when Alcaraz looked for crosscourt passing shot off his backhand against a charging Paul. The American reached out his racquet in the last moment to return the ball in play just near the net. Alcaraz, who had approached the net as well by then, looked to hammer the ball down the line with a forehand shot, but the ball had a sharp sidespin and changed its trajectory in surprising fashion after taking a bounce. The Spaniard however showed stunning reflexes in sprinting further and then lunged forward to invent a very precise lob. Paul rushed to the back of the court to respond to it, but the efforts went wide.
{{/usCountry}}It had happened in the 12th game of the second set when Alcaraz looked for crosscourt passing shot off his backhand against a charging Paul. The American reached out his racquet in the last moment to return the ball in play just near the net. Alcaraz, who had approached the net as well by then, looked to hammer the ball down the line with a forehand shot, but the ball had a sharp sidespin and changed its trajectory in surprising fashion after taking a bounce. The Spaniard however showed stunning reflexes in sprinting further and then lunged forward to invent a very precise lob. Paul rushed to the back of the court to respond to it, but the efforts went wide.
{{/usCountry}}Neither the crowd on Centre Court nor Paul or Alcaraz himself could believe what had just happened then. The Spaniard could only raise his racquet to soak in the appreciation from the spectators as he looked towards his box, uttered a few words with his face wearing the expression of sheer amazement.
Paul later saved three match points in that same game that lasted near about 15 minutes to force a deciding third. But Alcaraz denied him a repeat of Toronto in the third set.
"It was a really tough match. We were playing a really close match before the rain came. But I think I did pretty well [dealing with] the wait in the gym, warming up," he said after the match. "I told everyone that I really wanted [to win], since I lost in Toronto. I came here in Cincinnati and I'm really happy with the level. I think I'm getting better and better. I'm really happy to be in the quarter-finals here."
Alcaraz will next face qualifier Max Purcell, who earlier defeated Stan Wawrinka 6-4, 6-2. This will be his first encounter with the Aussie. "He's playing great. He defeated a lot of great players, top players," the World No. 1 said of his next opponent. "So I have to play my best against him. I don't know him really well, so I have to watch some videos from his last matches and be ready for the quarter-final. It's not going to be easy."