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Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, in his first Olympic Games, has reached the semi-finals after beating American Tommy Paul 6-3 and 7-6(7) in an exciting match that included fabulous comebacks from both players.
Alcaraz and Paul had met just five times before their Olympic showdown on Thursday, and Alcaraz held the advantage with three wins. And it had been a fairly consistent Olympic run for Alcaraz through the first three rounds. He had not dropped a set and had been forced into only one tiebreak so far, against Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands in the second round.
And the first set was like almost all the others so far. Alcaraz handled Paul pretty well, winning 6-3 in 39 minutes. But Paul got his act together in the second set. He managed to get a 3-0 lead over Alcaraz, something that is rare for anyone. Alcaraz got on the scoreboard, but trailing 5-2, he faced a third set.
So it was Alcaraz’s turn to wake up. He stopped Paul in his tracks, holding for 5-3 and then 5-4. By the time Alcaraz managed to come back and tie the set at 5-5, Paul’s revival was a distant memory. But Paul had more strength to give. He won the next game without Alcaraz scoring a single point, guaranteeing him at least a tiebreak.
And that’s what came next. Tied 6-6, Alcaraz fought back to end the match with a win right there, and Paul fought back to extend the match to a third set and give himself a chance to beat one of the best clay-court players out there.
For a tiebreak, it was a thriller. Tied 3-3 after six points, Alcaraz won the next two, but Paul managed another comeback to tie the match 5-5. Alcaraz then had match point at 6-5, but Paul again Paul went 7-6 ahead and could have won the set with the next point, but Alcaraz scored one to tie the match.
But it all had to end. Alcaraz eventually managed to string together two points in a row to win the tiebreak 9-7, as well as the set and the match. He has reached the semi-finals and is guaranteed to play for a medal (though he is not guaranteed to win one). He will face either Norwegian Caper Ruud or Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime in the semis. Ruud and Auger-Aliassime will play later on Thursday.
What is the situation in the United States after Paul’s defeat?
Every discipline of tennis is in a race to the finish line, which means we have a much clearer picture of whether any American has a chance to win a medal of any color. Paul was the last American competitor left in either men’s or women’s singles, so there were no medals there. The same was true for women’s doubles (Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula lost) and mixed doubles (Gauff and Taylor Fritz lost).
But Team USA is having more luck in the men’s doubles. Paul and Fritz, longtime friends, have made it to the quarterfinals. And the little-known duo of Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram, both doubles specialists (Ram is a six-time Grand Slam doubles champion), are in the final and guaranteed a gold or silver medal.