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Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, making his first Olympic appearance, reached the semi-finals after beating American Tommy Paul 6-3, 7-6(7) in a stunning match that saw both players fight back magnificently.
Alcaraz and Paul had met just five times before their Olympic match on Thursday, with Alcaraz winning three. But there was a sense of something going on between the two. Alcaraz won the first set 6-3 in 39 minutes, but Paul came alive in the second set, taking a 3-0 lead over Alcaraz in a rare occurrence. Alcaraz got on the scoreboard, but trailed 5-2 and was facing a third set.
Then 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 rise was a distant memory. But Paul had more in store. He won the next game without Alcaraz scoring a single point, guaranteeing him at least a tiebreak.
A tiebreak is exactly what came next. And for a tiebreak it was exciting. Tied 3-3 after six points, Alcaraz won the next two, only for Paul to make a comeback and tie it at 5-5. Then Alcaraz had match point at 6-5, but Paul again caught up again. Paul took a 7-6 lead and could have won the set with the next point, but Alcaraz sneaked in one to level the score again.
But it had to stop. Alcaraz eventually managed to score two points in a row and won the tiebreak 9-7, as well as the set and the match. He has reached the semi-finals and is assured of a medal (although it is not certain that he will win one). He will face Caper Ruud from Norway or Felix Auger-Aliassime from Canada in the semi-finals. Ruud and Auger-Aliassime will play later on Thursday.
How is the US doing after Paul’s loss?
Each tennis discipline is racing to the finish, which means we have a much clearer picture of whether Americans have a shot at a medal of any color. Paul was the last American left in the men’s or women’s singles, so no medals there. The same goes for the women’s doubles (Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula lost) and the mixed doubles (Gauff and Taylor Fritz lost).
But Team USA is having better luck in the men’s doubles. Longtime friends Paul and Fritz have made it all the way to the quarterfinals. And the under-the-radar duo of Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram, both doubles specialists (Ram is a six-time Grand Slam doubles champion), are in the final and are assured of a gold or silver medal.
