Final station: quarterfinals. The defending US Open champion unexpectedly eliminated from the Masters in Canada!

Carlos Alcaraz is one of the most closely watched players at the Masters tournament in Toronto. This year he will be defending the US Open and the coming weeks will reveal his form on the hard surface. In Canada, he hasn’t been very convincing of his form.

Already the eighth-final match against Poland’s Hurkacz was a tough one for the top-seeded player in Toronto. After sets 3:6 and 7:6, the Spaniard had a 5:2 lead in the deciding set and twice failed to finish the match.

“Honestly, I didn’t know what was going on. I didn‘t feel good at that moment,” the 20-year-old described his feelings at the important moments of the match , according to ESPN. But he handled the crucial ones perfectly.

He played aggressively and confidently and eventually won the third set for himself in the tiebreak. He came through the eighth round with his ears scratched. He advanced after sets 3:6, 7:6, 7:6.

Friday’s quarterfinals

The next stage of the tournament marked the end of Alcaraz’s journey through the tournament. The American Paul was more than the Spaniard could handle, as he got Alcaraz’s serve three times in the first set and won the opening set 6:3.

The second set fell to the Spaniard after a break in the seventh game. He then reached for his opponent’s serve in the first game of the deciding set. But the American held on and was the better player on court from then on.

In the third set, he scored thirteen winning balls compared to Alcaraz’s six and after a break in the sixth game, he took the third set for himself. Paul was very successful at the net. After sets of 6:3, 4:6, 6:3, the American surprisingly advanced among the top four players in the tournament.

In the end ..

Defending a Grand Slam victory is not usually a walk in the park. Especially on hard surfaces, Alcaraz has plenty of competition , and his results in Toronto indicate the difficulty of what awaits him at the last Grand Slam of the season.

But it is certainly not advisable to write off the Spanish tennis player. After all, almost exactly a year ago he crashed out at Montreal against the same opponent as this week. Then, in his very first match at the tournament, and at the US Open less than a month later, he was undefeated.

Source: ATP, ESPN