By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Friday August 2, 2024
Tommy Paul is considered as one of the players who has the ability to match the athleticism of Carlos Alcaraz on a tennis court. Paul won two of the pair’s first three meetings and has pushed Alcaraz even in his losses, creating a low-key rivalry and a matchup that in-the-know fans consider must-see.
After falling to the Spaniard in the Olympic quarterfinals on Thursday in Paris (6-3, 7-6(7), Alcaraz gave a fair assessment of how he perceives the rise of the four-time major champion.
"It's not a secret that right now, Alcaraz is kind of like the golden standard,” Paul said. “You use him to go to the practice court and see what you can change the next time you play him, because everyone wants to play at his level right now.”
Paul is 2-4 against Alcaraz, and recently took a set off of him in the Wimbledon quarterfinals. He also pushed him on Thursday in Paris, but couldn’t even manage a set off of the four-time major champion.
“He's won the last two Slams, he's young, he's full of energy,” Paul said. “So if you want to be the best in the world, you've got to beat him. So we went from Wimbledon to the clay with Carlos in mind. We're trying to be at that level."
It’s been a fantastic season for Paul as well. He’s up to 13 in the rankings and recently reeled off a nine-match winning streak that earned him the Queen’s title and took him to the last eight at Wimbledon for the first time. Top-10, surely, is coming.
Paul felt that he made progress against Alcaraz this week, even if he didn’t manage to win a set.
“I didn't gift him too much,” he said. “He earned a lot of it. So I'm not too disappointed with my performance. I thought this match was actually better for me than the Wimbledon match [quarterfinals vs. Alcaraz]. I played more on my terms. I played more aggressive tennis. Even though I got a set there, I was lucky to sneak that set at Wimbledon."
We’re looking forward to the next episode of this budding rivalry. Meantime, Paul will head back to the states for the summer swing, while Alcaraz, who trounced Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-1 6-1 in the semifinals on Friday, will bid for the Olympic gold medal on Sunday.