Carlos Alcaraz and Tommy Paul created an emotional and thrilling match at the Western & Southern Open, ATP Masters 1000 on the Cincinnati hard-courts, with the Spaniard taking revenge on the US, after the loss in Toronto.
The match started badly for Alcaraz, who lost his serve at 2-3. Paul played an excellent forehand and finished well on goal. The American protected the lead in the seventh game; not in the ninth, when a volley betrayed him.
Paul then grabbed the tie-break with difficulty by recovering from 0-40 to 5-5. Alcaraz chased his rival from the first moment but found the answers he was looking for with his back against the wall. A fantastic drop shot allowed him to put distance between himself and Paul.
There are many regrets that could have knocked on the American’s door if he hadn’t won the second set against an inaccurate Alcaraz. Closing the deficit, Paul was twice ahead by a break and had a set point on serve at 5-4.
Carlos Alcaraz beat Tommy Paul in an epic match in Cincinnati
Alcaraz, as only great champions can do, hit a winning reply to rebalance the challenge. It is in this context that reality has taken over and exceeded all expectations. Paul disallowed three match points in an endless twelfth game and won the tiebreaker 7-0.
Alcaraz reacted with great personality, moving ahead by a break in the third set, after the interruption due to rain and above all after a horror tie-break in the second set.
In the second half, however, it was the Spanish tennis player who took the field better. So he closes with the final score of 7-6, 6-7, 6-3.
Here are the highlights of the thrilling match shared by Tennis TV on their YouTube account:
Novak Djokovic beats Gael Monfils
Novak Djokovic takes his rivalry with Gael Monfils to another level at the Western & Southern Open. No one has such a losing margin against another tennis player in tennis history: 19-0. The last defeat came in the round of 16 of the ATP Masters 1000 in Cincinnati.
Victory of the Serbian tennis player with the result of 6-3 6-2. The former world number one still doesn’t play the best tennis of him, still hunting for physical condition after the Wimbledon final and in view of the US Open.
His talent and determination him, however, enough against the French. Always in trouble against the twenty-three times Grand Slam champion: history says it and this match says it too.