Carlos Alcaraz withstood a string of frustrating rain delays to beat Tommy Paul 7-6 (8/6), 6-7 (7/0) 6-3 on Thursday, avenging a loss to the American last week and reaching the quarter-finals of the ATP/WTA Cincinnati Open.
Paul was unable to repeat his sensational upset of the world number one from last Friday in Toronto, where he stunned the Spaniard in the quarter-finals. Alcaraz had squandered three match points before the first of a string of rain delays that forced players off and on the court in a logistics ballet that finally ended after more than three hours.
But he held on to book a quarter-final meeting with Australian Max Purcell, a 6-4, 6-2 winner over Swiss Stan Wawrinka. After the final rain pause, Alcaraz, up a break in the third, came out and finished off the final few points, advancing with 40 winners and 61 unforced errors. I really wanted to win after what happened against him last week.
Alcaraz is into his fifth Masters 1000 quarter-final this season and his 11th overall. He improved to 21-3 in the elite series this season, standing 51-5 overall. Alcaraz applied the pressure and brought out the best of his big game to tame Paul in a contest first interrupted at 4-3 in the deciding set by the weather.
The top seed came back from a break down four times in the first two sets, but he couldn’t put it away when he had three opportunities in the 12th game of the second set.
The 15-minute game saw Paul launch his fightback. He then dominated the tiebreaker, winning the last nine points of the set to square the contest after two and a half hours. A brief rain pause after the fifth game became a full-fledged suspension with Alcaraz up a break and serving at 4-3.
A frustrating stop-start scenario saw the court dried and players warmed up only for rain to start again. All of the starting and stopping was not easy,” Alcaraz said. “I handled the waiting well. I’m happy with my level and pleased to be in the quarter-finals. I feel my game is getting better and better.”
Source: eNCA
In other news – Sophie Ndaba launches a platform that focuses on healing and empowerment
Actress, TV producer, and businesswoman Sophie Ndaba is reclaiming her power and wants to share the journey with millions of women across South Africa and beyond. Ndaba has faced numerous challenges over the years, including death hoaxes, depression, failed marriages, cyberbullying, and body shaming.
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