Paul upsets world No 1 Alcaraz in Montreal quarter-finals

Tommy Paul’s brilliant 2023 campaign continued with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 upset of world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals of the National Bank Open on Friday night.

Paul started fast and finished strong, withstanding a mid-match charge by Alcaraz to prevail in two hours and 20 minutes. The 12th seed benefited from six double-faults by the top seed and converted four of 10 break-point opportunities.

“I played a really good match today,” Paul assured. “I really went after my shots; you can’t start any points on your heels against him; he’ll take advantage of it. You have to go for your shots early in the rally. I was feeling really good on my first-strike tennis; I think that was the difference tonight.”

Two in a row in Canada for Paul against Alcaraz

Paul is now 2-1 lifetime in the head-to-head series against Alcaraz and both of the American’s wins have come in Canada. Last summer in Montreal he ousted the Spaniard 6-7(4), 7-6(7), 6-3 during second-round action.

“It helps knowing that you can beat your opponent,” Paul said following Friday’s victory. “You never want to walk out on the court and be like, ‘I don’t know if you can beat this guy.’ It’s kind of the attitude you need to have no matter who you’re playing. But yeah, [the 2022 result] probably helped a little bit.”

Paul awaits Sinner or Monfils in Toronto semi-finals

Paul’s reward is a semi-final showdown against either Jannik Sinner or Gael Monfils.

It wasn’t easy for Paul earlier in the tournament either. He scraped past Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 and Francisco Cerundolo 7-6(2), 6-7(2), 6-3 before dismissing compatriot Marcos Giron 6-3, 6-2.

Alcaraz also struggled in each of his first two matches, beating Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6 (3) and Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(3).

Toronto Masters, other last eight results:

• Gael Monfils vs. Jannik Sinner
• Alex De Minaur beat Daniil Medvedev (2): 7-6 (7), 7-5
• Alejandro Davidovich Fokina beat Mackenzie McDonald: 6-4, 6-2

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