By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Wednesday August 16, 2023
As Tommy Paul continues to make waves on the ATP Tour and nudge closer to the Top 10, the 26-year-old says the ranking is not really on his mind. It’s the wins that he is after.
“I think everyone else pays attention to it a lot more than I do,” he told reporters, according to Andrew Eichenholz of ATPTour.com. “It's hard to not hear it. Like when I first showed up here, I see Frances and he's in the locker room like, ‘Man, if anyone's going to bump me out of the Top 10, I wanted it to be you.’ I was like, ‘Dude, I wasn't even thinking about that.’”
Instead Paul is thinking about facing World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz for the second time in as many weeks. He produced a shockingly good effort last week in Toronto and took out the Spaniard 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. It was Paul’s second win over Alcaraz in three tries.
To do it again on Thursday in Cincinnati, Paul will have to up his game once again.
“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,” Paul said. “But I'm really looking forward to this.”
The American, who owns a 30-18 record in a season that saw him reach his first career Grand Slam semifinal at the Australian Open in January, expects Alcaraz to come with a few wrinkles.
“He's not going to do the same exact thing,” Paul said. “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.”
Paul, currently ranked 13, can surpass Alex de Minaur in the rankings with a victory on Thursday. If he got to the final in Cincinnati, he could potentially jump into the Top 10 ahead of the US Open.