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 [August 12, 2023]
By Rory Carroll
(Reuters) -Carlos Alcaraz's U.S Open preparations suffered a setback
on Friday as the world number one fell to American Tommy Paul 6-3
4-6 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the Canadian Open.
For the third consecutive match, the Spaniard got off to a sluggish
start on the hard courts in Toronto, falling behind early and double
faulting to hand Paul the first set.
Alcaraz upped his game in the second, hitting a sensational tweener
for a winner to level at 3-3 and breaking at love for a 4-3 lead the
next game en route to leveling the contest.
But Paul took control in the decider, smoking a backhand at the
charging Alcaraz that he could not put back in play for a break and
pouncing on a poorly executed drop shot from Alcaraz on match point
to dismiss the top seed.
The 26-year-old Paul will rise to a career-high ranking of at least
12 on Monday and will face either Gael Monfils or Jannik Sinner in
the semis.
Earlier, Alex de Minaur pulled off a gritty 7-6(7) 7-5 upset of
second seed Daniil Medvedev at the Canadian Open on Friday to reach
his first semi-final at a Masters 1000 event where he will face
Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
The speedy Australian fell 5-2 behind in the opener and had to fend
off three set points in the tiebreak before clinching the first set
against the 2021 champion in Toronto.
The 24-year-old De Minaur had to rally from a break down twice in
the second set before showing his resilience again thanks to his
brilliant return game, sealing victory on the Russian's seventh
double fault.
[to top of second column] |
Aug 11, 2023; Toronto, Ontario, Canada;
Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) reaches for but misses a shot played by Tommy
Paul (USA) (not pictured) during quarter finals play at Sobeys
Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
"I'm probably most proud of my mental state," de
Minaur told reporters.
"Throughout the whole match, I thought I was very level-headed and
at no point in that match did I feel frazzled at all," he said.
"I knew my game plan. I stuck to it. I stayed
positive. And I knew that any small chances I was going to get, I
was going to have to take them and try to be aggressive and, you
know, it worked out. So extremely happy with that."
Up next is a meeting with red-hot Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich
Fokina, who swept aside American Mackenzie McDonald 6-4 6-2 earlier
on Friday.
Davidovich Fokina holds a 2-1 lead over De Minaur in their
head-to-head meetings.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Ken Ferris and
William Mallard)
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