Frustration boiled over for Carlos Alcaraz on Friday as the world No. 1 crashed out in the quarter-finals of the Toronto Masters 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 to Tommy Paul.
The 14th-ranked American winner spent more than two and a quarter hours reprising the defeat he handed the Spaniard a year ago in Canada with a second-round victory in Montreal.
Top seed Alcaraz dropped serve three times in the opening set as his evening got off to the worst possible start.
The reigning Wimbledon and US Open champion managed to win the second – and unleashed an award-winning tweener along the way – but was undone in the third as Paul re-asserted his dominance.
The outsider advanced on his second match point as a listless Alcaraz returned wide.
“I have some weeks before US Open. But now I have to be focused (from Monday) on Cincinnati. It’s a Masters 1000. It’s a big tournament as well,” Alcaraz said.
“I have to talk with my team and prepare well for Cincinnati. I take a lot of lessons from this tournament.”
The winner said victory was never a sure thing event with Alcaraz travelling at well below his best.
“I played a really good match,” Paul said. “I went after my shots.
“You can’t start on your heel against him or he will run all over you.
“I was feeling really good, playing first-strike tennis – that was the difference today.”
Main photo:- Tommy Paul celebrates as he beats Carlos Alcaraz by ATPTour.com
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