Tommy Paul stunned world No. 4 Carlos Alcaraz at the Canadian Open 6-7(4) 7-6 6-3 after mounting an astonishing fightback in Montreal.
Paul was a set and a break down to the surging Spaniard, but somehow recovered to edge the second set on a tie-break – saving a match point on the way – and then romped to victory in a one-sided third set against a deflated Alcaraz.
Paul will play Marin Cilic in the last 16, whose straight-sets win over Karen Khachanov was the 350th hard-court victory of the Croatian’s career.
In the aftermath, Alcaraz admitted he had struggled to cope with the situation imposed on him before the tournament started.
“I must learn the lesson of this match,” the 19-year-old said.
“I’m angry. I had my chances to break him early in the third set. I was dominating those points, but I made bad decisions. That frustrated me. I was able to play better at the end of the match, but I’m angry that I couldn’t play my best tennis in the rest of the match.
“I would say it was the first time that I couldn’t deal with the pressure. Being the second seed in the draw and No. 4 in the world, it was the first time I felt that pressure and I couldn’t control it.
“I need to train and be prepared to deal with that pressure. I have to learn how to do it, that’s all I can say right now.”
Of his latest top-10 win – his third this year – Paul said: “I think I did a lot of things well. I played a good level of tennis, especially in the third set, so I’m happy to get through.
“I just felt like I was in his service games. In the second set I felt like I could break. I didn’t expect to get two breaks back and serve for the set, [but] I felt like I was playing comfortable tennis overall.
“I stuck to the game plan and played well.”
Alcaraz, the second seed, was coming into the tournament on the back of two final losses in his past two events, having lost in Hamburg to Lorenzo Musetti and then Jannik Sinner – his conqueror at Wimbledon – in Umag.
Having received a bye to the last 32, Alcaraz was meeting a player in Paul who has risen to his best-ever world ranking this year – 32 – and who put together a fine run to the last 16 at Wimbledon.
After cruising past Vasek Pospisil in his first-round match, Paul was in an altogether tougher battle with Alcaraz from the outset and he was broken early on to fall 2-1 behind.
However, he roared back on terms straightaway and in the Spaniard’s next two service games had further break point opportunities, which he ultimately couldn’t take.
Holds thereafter took it to 5-5 and the undoubted rally of the match which saw Paul somehow emerge victorious after a miraculous smash from 10 feet behind the baseline.
A tie-break followed and Alcaraz was the one who took up the early running, storming into a 5-2 lead after a series of points which saw the Spaniard pull Paul all around the court with angled groundstrokes and stunningly deceptive drop shots.
Alcaraz moved to 6-3 and with it three set points. Paul saved the first with a backhand winner, but Alcaraz sealed it on the next, pumping a fist towards coach Juan-Carlos Ferrero.
Alcaraz had only lost one match this year after winning the opening set, which – if he was aware of it – would’ve been a daunting statistic for Paul as he returned to the court to begin the second set.
With coaching now allowed on the ATP Tour, Paul’s box might have been telling him to try and improve his returning, which had seen Alcaraz record an ‘unreturned serve’ figure of over 40% in the first set.
But a swift hold from the 19-year-old saw him forge ahead early on, and then he brought up two chances to break Paul as the American served for the first time in the set.
Paul saved them, but couldn’t hold off a third break point as Alcaraz took a 2-0 lead.
Game three felt like a turning point as Alcaraz staved off two break points and a resurgent Paul to move three games from the last 16.
Paul’s game could’ve gone away after that blow but it didn’t appear to be the case straight after as the world No. 34 held impressively to get himself on the board in the set.
And better was to follow at 4-2 as Paul brought up three break points on Alcaraz’s serve, and took the second to put the set back on serve.
Having worked so hard to get back into the match, Paul then threw in two loose points to face break points, but served his way out of it to make it 4-4.
Remarkably Paul then upped the ante to break Alcaraz and take his fourth game in a row, as he now stood one game from taking it to a decider.
But the swings in momentum weren’t finished there as Alcaraz’s extraordinary retrieving forced a wayward forehand from Paul – and the break back – and once again it went to 5-5.
That became 6-6 and into another tie-break we went.
Alcaraz brought up a match point at 7-6, but after failing to convert, Paul then capitalised with three straight points to win it 9-7, and take the match to a wholly unforeseen decider.
Paul – unsurprisingly – looked energised at the start of the third, and he raced into a 4-1 lead after breaking the 19-year-old in the fourth game.
Alcaraz kept on terms under serious pressure from his opponent, pulling out some outrageous angled forehands as he made Paul serve it out.
And though Alcaraz took it to deuce, Paul hit a forehand winner into the open court on his first match point to complete his sensational comeback.
