Tommy Paul was unable to stop the dominance of world number one Carlos Alcaraz at the Australian Open.
Paul has two previous victories against Alcaraz, but had not beaten the Spaniard since the 2023 Canadian Open.
Despite coming into the match as the underdog, Paul claimed he had a game plan to beat Alcaraz.
However, this did not come to fruition as Alcaraz set up a quarterfinal with Alex de Minaur after beating Paul in straight sets.
Tommy Paul explains how Carlos Alcaraz made him feel in their match at the Australian Open
Paul actually found himself up a break in the first set of his match against Alcaraz, but he was beaten 7-6(6) 6-4 7-5.
The American made his return to the ATP Tour at the start of the 2026 season, with Paul struggling with injury last year, which prevented him from playing more than two tournaments after Wimbledon.
When asked if anything prevented him from playing his best tennis against Alcaraz at the Australian Open, Paul admitted that he did not have any excuses and claimed that the Spaniard exposed his forehand.
“Yeah, I definitely don’t have an excuse this time, you know (smiling). He totally outplayed me,” Paul said in his post-match press conference.
“I guess the way that I would describe it is, you know, he kind of, like, suffocates you in a way. He makes you feel like you have no time. He rushes you.
“Today he exposed… I hit my forehand terribly today, and he saw that early. He was trying to get in that forehand-to-forehand rally, and he did it much better than I did. That’s what it felt like.
“It felt like he got all the patterns he wanted, and I was having a tough time getting into the patterns that I wanted.”
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Tommy Paul states his ranking goal after exiting the Australian Open
Although he was unable to win a set against Alcaraz, it has been a strong comeback for Paul, who has reached the Adelaide International semifinals and the second week of the Australian Open.
Paul reached his career-high ranking of world number eight last year, but following his injury absence slipped down to world number 20.
As he reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open last year, Paul will drop 200 points from his ranking after the tournament.
After losing to Alcaraz, Paul was asked if he has any goals in terms of his ranking following the Australian Open.
“Yeah, obviously I want to get back into the top 10,” said Paul. “That’s where I feel like I belong. I’ve got some work to do. Obviously I fell back in the rankings a little bit.
“I’m overall leaving Australia pretty happy with where my body is at and where my game is at, for not playing for a while. I feel like I jumped right back into it pretty quick. So overall leaving happy.”
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Paul will continue his bid to return to the top 10 in the USA, where he has entered tournaments in Dallas and Delray Beach ahead of the sunshine double.
While he looks ahead to future tournaments, Alcaraz will continue his campaign to complete the Career Slam at the Australian Open when he plays the aforementioned De Minaur on Tuesday, January 27.
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