Alcaraz, Paul set for rematch following last week’s upset win by the American in Toronto

Carlos Alcaraz will get another shot at Tommy Paul when the familiar foes meet again in the Western & Southern Open third round on Thursday night.

Alcaraz and Paul just squared off at the National Bank Open in Toronto less than a week ago, when the American pulled off a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 quarter-final upset. It marked Paul’s second win over the Spaniard in as many years at the Canada Masters 1000, having defeated Alcaraz 6-7(4), 7-6(7), 6-3 at the 2022 event in Montreal.

Although Alcaraz won their Miami matchup earlier this season via a 6-4, 6-4 decision, the 20-year-old will be aiming for revenge from last week’s loss — which gave Paul an overall 2-1 lead in the head-to-head series.

Alcaraz is no doubt relishing the opportunity, but Paul is also looking forward to another battle with the world No 1.

When I play him, there’s more energy around the match.

Tommy Paul

“He’s obviously an unbelievable player,” the 26-year-old said of Alcaraz after beating Ugo Humbert in three sets on Wednesday at the Cincinnati Masters. “But when I play him, it’s just like there’s more energy around the match and it’s more exciting and I’m more excited to play those matches. So I have a lot of fun playing those matches.”

Paul certainly had fun last week in Toronto, but he knows the circumstances will be different in Cincinnati.

“[Beating him last week] helps a little bit, but at the same time, it probably doesn’t hurt him. He probably feels less pressure this week to play me than he did last week. So I think it’s going to be a very, very tricky and tough match. But I’m really looking forward to this.

“You can’t do the same exact thing in any given match. I didn’t do the same thing for the whole match last time I played him and I’m not going to do the same thing tomorrow that I did last week. And same for him,” Paul said. “He’s not going to do the same exact thing. He’s going to probably look to change things up more than I am. But at the same time, with me and him I really do feel like it’s about who starts the point on offense more often.”

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