Miami (USA), (EFE) , and will face Taylor Fritz in the quarterfinals.
Tommy Paul arrived at the clash as the executioner of the Spanish with his last twelve clashes. This was presented as the toughest exam of all of them and Alcaraz did not fail to meet expectations.
From the first ball, both tennis players made a declaration of intent, each one prevailing in his serve, but fighting it from the rest and complicating the rival.
Dominance from the first set
That was until the fifth game, when Alcaraz won it by breaking Paul’s serve. It was one of the highlights of the match for the Murcian, who came to win twelve of the fourteen balls played between the fourth and fifth games.
The seventh game was key, it was almost ten minutes long, with points of up to 24 shots. The American won it to survive the storm that Alcaraz raised, and he celebrated it for what it was, a key moment of the first set. https://efe.com/noticias/carlos-alcaraz/
Alcaraz reached 5-3 with a 40-0, maintaining his service, the mental strength of the Spaniard was beginning to be noticed. Firm in his serve, he made it 6-4, although he did it from deuce, suffering, as the dynamics of the match came about.
In 49 minutes of the set, the statistics spoke of a superior Alcaraz in all facets of the game in the first round. More effective in first services with 82% of balls won, and lethal in his climbs to the net with five of five scored.
The second set had the same start as the first, both prevailing on their serve, but with a difference in the way they approached the match. Alcaraz played with Tommy Paul at times, making him run to the back of the track and complementing with his famous drop shots into the net.
Love for Alcaraz in Miami
The Murcian broke his rival’s serve very early to make it 2-1, and the clenched fists returned, and the glances to the first row of the stands, where Juan Carlos Ferrero reflected on his face the tension due to the difficulty of the match.
Paul won for 3-2, but the balls were different, they weighed more. Alcaraz’s points came from heroics running from one side of the court to the other, clipping his shots to force Paul to run into the net.
And so, little by little, the Spaniard ended up gaining the favor and the ovations of the public. Alcaraz tennis excites and the Hard Rock Stadium has been falling in love a little more every day.
Tommy Paul was not able to break Alcaraz’s serve at any time, and the Murcian was on the verge of doing it again in the ninth game, but wasted a match point. He took the pride out of him the American to get back to survival.
End of streak for Paul
The Spanish tennis player made it easy in his serve, he had a double match ball but he only needed one to put the final 6-4 that gave him the set and the match.
Delivered, Tommy Paul, saw his favorable statistics break against the Spanish, this time he had to deal with a world number one.
Taylor Fritz will be Carlos Alcaraz’s rival in the quarterfinals this Wednesday, with little rest time for both compared to previous rounds. He is one of the top 10 that the Murcian has never faced, and he got rid of Holger Rune in just under an hour and a half of the game with a resounding 6-3, 6-4.