Paul Saves MP, Stuns Alcaraz In Montreal
An inspired Tommy Paul cut short the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers debut of Carlos Alcaraz on Wednesday in Montreal, where the American prevailed 6-7(4), 7-6(7), 6-3 in a second-round epic.
Paul was on the brink of his third consecutive second-round exit at the Canadian ATP Masters 1000 event when he faced match point at 6/7 in the second-set tie-break, but the 25-year-old held his nerve to force a decider in his maiden ATP Head2Head meeting with the second seed. Consistent ballstriking from deep earned Paul a decisive break of serve in the third set as the World No. 34 wrapped a three-hour, 19-minute marathon win to book a third-round matchup against 13th seed Marin Cilic or Karen Khachanov.
Until Paul pulled clear in the deciding set, the Montreal crowd had been treated to an absorbing matchup of fine margins that featured some dramatic all-court rallies and saw both players struggle to capitalise when in strong positions. Paul’s ability to pressure the Alcaraz delivery with concise returning ultimately proved decisive, however, as he converted four from 15 break points to reach the third round for the first time.
More to follow…
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