Carlos Alcaraz‘s stellar run of 14 straight wins, which included his two grass court title wins at Queen’s and Wimbledon, came to a shocking end on Friday night in Toronto as he lost to Tommy Paul, yet again at the Canadian Open, in the quarterfinal round. It also served as a massive blow to the Spaniard who now builds towards his title-defense campaign at the 2023 US Open next month. But with the surprise defeat, Alcaraz’s world No.1 title stands under threat as Novak Djokovic is slated to make a return in Cincinnati Masters next week.
For the first time since that heartbreaking defeat in the Wimbledon final, Djokovic will return to action in Ohio, which will be his only preparation for the US Open. It will also mark the return of the Serb on US soil after two years having missed the North America hardcourt swing in 2022, including the Open, owing his the government’s Covid rule against unvaccinated foreigners.
What leaves Alcaraz concerned after loss to Paul is that while he will be defending his run to the quarterfinal in last year’s Cincinnati edition, Djokovic, who stands only 600 points behind, has no points to defend at the ATP Masters 1000 event. A loss ahead of the last eight and a win for the Serb could see a major change at the top of the ATP rankings chart before the proceedings roll towards New York for the final Grand Slam of the calendar year.
Alcaraz vs Paul Part 2 in Cincinnati?
If the 20-year-old thought that he could put his Canadian Open loss behind and look ahead to Cincinnati with a fresh mind, the draw for the Western & Southern Open left him a major threat looming large in the early rounds in Ohio. Alcaraz could potentially run into the American for the second time in two weeks at the Lindner Family Tennis Centre, this time in the third round.
“I realise that I didn’t play well, these matches,” Alcaraz said on Friday after his loss in Toronto. “So all I can do now is practise to be better. I have some weeks before the US Open. But now I have to be focussed on Cincinnati. It’s a Masters 1000. It’s a big tournament as well.
“Obviously, I take a lot of lessons from this tournament, coming to the next ones… I think I did well some things in this tournament, but probably everything can be better.”
It was his second defeat to Paul in the last 12 months, having suffered a loss in three sets in the Montreal edition of Canadian Open last year. But despite the loss, which saw him go 1-2 down in the head-to-head tie, Alcaraz was full of praise for Paul, who rose to the No.12 spot after a run to the semis in Toronto.
“He’s certainly a complete player. The matches that we have played has been really tough ones, last year in Miami and this one,” Alcaraz said. “He’s a really solid player. Has great talent, great shots. He’s really, really fast as well. So he’s one of the best players in the world right now. There’s no doubt about it. He’s really tough on every surface. I mean, he’s a mix of everything. It makes him really, really tough.”
Alcaraz however holds the edge over Djokovic in the ATP Live Race To Turin, where he stands 940 points clear at the top after clinching 49 wins in 2023. In fact, he remains the only player so far to have qualified for his year’s ATP Finals, where he is likely to make a debut having missed out last year owing to an injury.
