As a symbol, he ended the meeting with yet another badly dosed drop shot. Already in difficulty the day before against Hubert Hurkacz (the Pole had led by a set and a break), Carlos Alcaraz was stopped in the quarter-finals, on the night of Friday to Saturday, by the American Tommy Paul ( 26 years old, 14th ATP), who had already dominated him a year ago in Canada (the tournament was then played in Montreal).
The world number one, who nevertheless remained on a series of 14 consecutive successes, never really found his rhythm, even showing himself dominated in the exchange (only 48% of points won behind his second ball). Despite a jump in the second set, accompanied by a winning tweener that lifted the whole stadium, the recent Wimbledon winner logically suffered his fifth defeat of the season (6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in 2:20) .
“Despite the loss, do you think this week in Toronto will benefit you in view of the US Open (August 28-September 10)?
Enormously. Of course, I’m aware of that, I didn’t play well. But there are still several weeks before the US Open. It’s up to me to discuss with my team, to learn the lessons of this tournament and to train to be better. For now, I’m going to prepare well for Cincinnati (August 14-20). It’s a big tournament to play.
This is the second time that Tommy Paul has beaten you in this tournament. What makes him so hard to face?
It is complete. All the matches we played were tight. He has a lot of talent and is very, very fast. He’s got a bit of a mix of everything, that’s what makes him so hard to play.
“I can improve everything and gain confidence”
After this winning tweener in the second set, did you feel that the match was turning in your favor?
Yes. After that, my level of play increased a little because I abused myself. At the time, it was a key moment.
You talked about lessons to be learned. What are those lessons and what aspects of your game do you need to improve for Cincinnati?
There are things I did well this week, but overall I can improve everything. And gain confidence.
You played the Hopman Cup on clay after Wimbledon. Does that explain why you need more hard training?
No, I do not think so. I trained well on hard before Toronto, I had time. In my opinion, the Hopman Cup had no impact on this tournament. »
