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Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, in his first Olympics, has sailed into the semifinals after beating American Tommy Paul 6-3, 7-6(7) in a scintillating match that featured fabulous comebacks from both players.
Alcaraz and Paul had met just five times prior to their Olympic matchup on Thursday, with Alcaraz having the edge at three wins. And his Olympics journey had been pretty bog standard Alcaraz through the first three rounds. He hadn’t dropped a set and had been forced into just one tiebreak so far, against Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands in the second round.
And the first set went the way almost all the others had so far. Alcaraz handled Paul fairly well, winning 6-3 in 39 minutes. But Paul came alive in the second set. He managed to stake out a 3-0 lead over Alcaraz, a rare thing for anyone to do. Alcaraz got on the board, but down 5-2, he was staring a third set right in the face.
So it was Alcaraz’s turn to come alive. He stopped Paul in his tracks, holding at 5-3 and then 5-4. By the time Alcaraz had come all the way back and tied the set at 5-5, Paul’s surge was a distant memory. But Paul had more left in the tank. He won the very next game without Alcaraz scoring a single point, guaranteeing at least a tiebreak.
And that’s what came next. Tied 6-6, Alcaraz fought to end the match with a win right there, and Paul battled to extend the match to a third set and give himself a chance to beat one of the best clay court players out there.
For a tiebreak, it was thrilling. Tied 3-3 after six points, Alcaraz won the next two, only for Paul to make another comeback to tie it 5-5. Then Alcaraz had match point at 6-5, but Paul again caught back up. Paul went ahead 7-6 and could win the set with the next point, but Alcaraz snuck one in to tie it again.
But it had to end. Alcaraz finally managed to score two points in a row to win the tiebreak 9-7, as well as the set, and the match. He has made the semifinals and is guaranteed to play for a medal (though not guaranteed to win one). He will face either Caper Ruud of Norway or Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada in the semifinals. Ruud and Auger-Aliassime play later on Thursday.
Where does the U.S. stand after Paul’s loss?
Every tennis discipline is racing to the finish, which means we have a much clearer picture of whether any Americans have a chance to win a medal of any color. Paul was the last remaining American competitor in men’s or women’s singles, so no medals there. Same for women’s doubles (Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula lost), and mixed doubles (Gauff and Taylor Fritz lost).
But Team USA is having more luck in men’s doubles. Paul and Fritz, who are longtime friends, have made it all the way to the quarterfinal. And the under-the-radar duo of Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram, who are both doubles specialists (Ram is a six-time Grand Slam doubles champion), are into the finals and are guaranteed either a gold or silver medal.
