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

Carlos Alcaraz and Tommy Paul will face each other for the second week in a row when they meet again on Thursday, this time at the Cincinnati Masters.

Carlos Alcaraz, Toronto 2023 – © Icon SMI / Panoramic

Ricky Dimon

August 17, 2023

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.”