Tommy Paul suffered a heavy straight sets defeat at the hands of Carlos Alcaraz in his French Open quarter-final.
Alcaraz apologised after beating Tommy Paul, 6-0 6-1 6-4, in just 96 minutes in the night session match on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
While the American appeared to be struggling physically, Alcaraz was seen doing something for the first time against Paul.
After suffering a humbling defeat to the Spaniard, Paul has been asked about whether Alcaraz is unbeatable at the French Open this year.
Tommy Paul says if anybody can actually beat Carlos Alcaraz
Alcaraz won the Italian Open and the Monte Carlo Masters coming into this year’s French Open, with his only clay court defeat this year coming against Holger Rune in the Barcelona Open final.
The 22-year-old has continued this form into Paris, with Alcaraz just two wins away from defending his French Open title.
When Paul was asked if anybody could actually beat Alcaraz in his post-match interview in the mixed zone, he suggested that Jannik Sinner is the only other player that can contend with the Murcian.
“I don’t know,” responded Paul. “I think we have seen Sinner really destroy people lately. I guess today was Carlos’s turn. I think both of them are playing at an extremely high level right now.”
Alcaraz can only play Sinner if both players reach the French Open final, which would set up a first Grand Slam final meeting between them.
Tommy Paul explains what Carlos Alcaraz did so well against him
Alcaraz hit 40 winners compared to 22 unforced errors in his dominant straight sets victory over Paul.
While Paul has admitted he did not really enjoy his time on court, he was full of praise for how Alcaraz returned in particular and felt like he was constantly rushing.
After exiting the tournament, Paul claimed that he would be keeping an eye on Alcaraz’s remaining matches at the French Open this year.
“It was not particularly fun,” admitted Paul. “He played some great tennis. He returned very well, he had me on my back foot all the time.
“He was playing so fast that even on the changeovers I felt he was getting up with 20 seconds left. I was like you have got to slow down man. He is playing amazing tennis, obviously. He is very comfortable here, the defending champion, so I am looking forward to watching the rest of this tournament.”
Paul’s next opportunity to watch Alcaraz will be on Friday, June 6, when he plays Lorenzo Musetti, who has been involved in controversy after his own quarter-final match.
While Musetti has beaten Alcaraz on clay before, it is the latter who has won their last five meetings including two recent matches in the Monte Carlo Masters final and Italian Open semi-final.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
