Finally, Carlos Alcaraz’s fairytale run ended. A streak of fourteen consecutive wins, which included an epic victory over Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon, was snapped in Toronto on Friday night.
Tommy Paul of the US upset the 20-year-old World No. 1 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in the National Bank Open quarterfinals.
“I played a really good match. I really went after my shots,” Paul said. “You can't start any points on your heels against him or he'll take advantage of that. So you really have to go after your shots early in the rally and I was feeling really good on the first-strike tennis. That was the difference today.”
Alcaraz was gracious in defeat. “He's really tough on every surface,” Alcaraz said. “I mean he's a mix of everything. It makes him really, really tough.”
Paul is now 2-1 on Alcaraz in their head to head record. Not even Djokovic can say that. His other win against Alcaraz came in Montreal last year.
“It helps knowing that you can beat your opponent,” Paul said. “You never want to walk on the court and be like, I don't know if I can beat this guy'. It's the attitude you've got to have no matter who you are playing."
Former World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev also lost. He went down 7-6 (7), 7-5 to the Australian Alex de Minaur.
"I had to play some of my best tennis today,” de Minaur said. “It has been a great week for me so far. I played the right way today. I think having played him at the end of last year gave me the confidence that I had a chance. I just had to play the right way and I am extremely proud of the effort and to still be alive."
De Minaur will face Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain in a duel of unseeded players. Paul, the hero of the moment, will play either Jannik Sinner or Gael Monfils in the semifinals.
