Playing at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers as the World No. 4 and the tournament’s second seed, Carlos Alcaraz said he struggled for the first time with the pressure of his lofty status on the ATP Tour.

On Wednesday in Montreal, the 19-year-old lost a match point in the second set and dropped a 6-7(4), 7-6(7), 6-3 decision to American Tommy Paul.

“I felt the pressure to be the No. 2 seed in this kind of tournament, No. 4 in the world,” Alcaraz said in his post-match press conference. “It was the first time that I felt that pressure, and I couldn’t handle it.

“All I can say from this match is I have to train, I have to be ready to have this pressure, to have these kinds of moments, and to learn how to handle it. That’s all I can say right now.”

Alcaraz surrendered a break advantage in the second set and could not convert on his match point on return at 7/6 in the second-set tie-break. While he expected a tough opening match in his first hard-court event since winning the Miami title in April, he was upset with the result and his inability to produce his best tennis.

“I could say I couldn’t show my best performance here,” he said, earlier calling Paul a deserved winner. “But as I said, first rounds, you have to fight against your opponent and of course against yourself. Obviously it was tough to handle those moments knowing that I’m not playing my 100 per cent, let’s say… It was a fight with myself.”

The Spaniard’s position as World No. 4 is under threat this week from Stefanos Tsitsipas and Casper Ruud, who could both pass him by reaching the Montreal final.

Alcaraz now turns his attention to Cincinnati, where he made his debut as a qualifier last summer, losing to Lorenzo Sonego in the opening round.

“Right now, I think I [will] spend one day here in Montreal and then be focussed on Cincinnati,” he said. “I have to train, as I said, to take lesson from this match, trying to be 100 per cent for Cincinnati.”

Nick Kyrgios claimed the biggest scalp of his red-hot winning streak Wednesday when he upset World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-2 in a heavyweight National Bank Open Presented by Rogers second-round clash in Montreal.

Kyrgios frequently deployed serve-and-volley tactics to exploit the defending champion’s deep positioning on return. He also staved off the two break points he faced during the two-hour encounter at the ATP Masters 1000 event.

“This is the fourth meeting we’ve had and I’ve had some success against him in the past,” said Kyrgios, who improved his ATP Head2Head series record against Medvedev to 3-1 with the win. “But he’s beaten me before [as well]. I feel like we know each other’s games well. I’m not the type of player that goes into this match looking at rankings or anything like that, it’s just who I’m playing and what kind of ball they’re giving me.”

After backing up his run to his maiden Grand Slam final at Wimbledon in June with his seventh ATP Tour title in Washington last week, Kyrgios has now won 14 of his past 15 matches. The win against Medvedev lifts the Australian to No. 31 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.

Kyrgios had shown resilience to rally after the disappointment of losing the opening set in Montreal, during which he had two set points on the Medvedev serve at 5-4, but could not convert. An early break of the top seed’s serve in the second set proved key as the Australian continued to dominate behind his delivery and level the match.

“Today I had a very clean objective of how I was going to play, a lot of serve-and-volley, a lot of aggressive play from the back,” said Kyrgios. “I executed better than he did, that’s all it comes down to. He won the first set and I feel like I had opportunities there as well, so hopefully I can just keep this rolling.”

Although he struggled to find his top level, Medvedev did carve out his first two break point opportunities of the match in the second game of the decider. Yet Kyrgios’ purposeful moves forward kept the World No. 1 at bay, and some trademark clean hitting earned the Australian four games in a row from 2-2 as he charged to victory having won 67 per cent (32/48) of points at the net.

The win is Kyrgios’ second over a reigning World No. 1, after he defeated Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon in 2014. He will face countryman Alex de Minaur in the third round in Quebec, a stage that Kyrgios has never progressed past at the Canadian Masters 1000 event.

Kyrgios has plenty to play for this week in Montreal. Should he claim his maiden Masters 1000 title in Canada, the 27-year-old has a chance of jumping as high as No. 15 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings and as high as ninth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin.

Rafael Nadal confirmed on Wednesday his plans to travel to Cincinnati for the Western & Southern Open, where he could secure a return to World No. 1.

If the Spaniard wins the ATP Masters 1000 title and current World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev fails to reach the quarter-finals, Nadal would rise to the top of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

The 36-year-old is set for his first competitive appearance since pulling out of Wimbledon just before the semi-finals with an abdominal injury he sustained during the London fortnight. His difficult decision not to play Nick Kyrgios in that semi-final has allowed him a relatively quick return from the muscle tear.

Nadal confirmed his return in an Instagram post, where he said: “Very happy to play again in Cincy. Flying there tomorrow.”

 

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The 2013 Cincinnati champion, Nadal is 22-11 at the ATP Masters 1000 event and has reached the quarter-finals or better on seven occasions. He has not competed at the hard-court showcase since 2017, when he lost to Kyrgios in the quarters.

Nadal will be seeking his fifth title of the 2022 season as he looks to improve upon his stellar 35-3 record on the year. Nadal and countryman Carlos Alcaraz share the season lead for ATP Tour singles titles with four each.

The World No. 3 has won 36 Masters 1000 titles, second only to Novak Djokovic’s 38.

An inspired Tommy Paul cut short the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers debut of Carlos Alcaraz on Wednesday in Montreal, where the American prevailed 6-7(4), 7-6(7), 6-3 in a second-round epic.

Paul was on the brink of his third consecutive second-round exit at the Canadian ATP Masters 1000 event when he faced match point at 6/7 in the second-set tie-break, but the 25-year-old held his nerve to force a decider in his maiden ATP Head2Head meeting with the second seed. Consistent ballstriking from deep earned Paul a decisive break of serve in the third set as the World No. 34 wrapped a three-hour, 19-minute marathon win to book a third-round matchup against 13th seed Marin Cilic or Karen Khachanov.

“It’s nice to finish matches at the net,” said Paul after he came forward to convert his fifth match point. “He hit a pretty nice passing shot there at the last point and I covered the line well, volleyed it well. I think I did a lot of things well today. I played a good level of tennis, especially there in the third set, so I’m happy to get through.”

✅ Rublev
✅ Berrettini
✅ Zverev
✅ Alcaraz@TommyPaul1 digs deep for his fourth Top 🔟 win in 10 months!#OBN22 pic.twitter.com/lylPHfP7aB

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 10, 2022

Paul had also been under pressure early in the second set after Alcaraz opened up a 4-1 lead to move within two games of victory. The American responded with four games in a row to storm back into the contest, and despite ultimately requiring a tie-break to clinch the set Paul admitted he had retained belief throughout.

“I just felt like I was in his service games,” said Paul. “In the second set I felt like I could break. I didn’t expect to get two breaks back and serve for the set, [but] I felt like I was playing comfortable tennis overall. I stuck to the game plan and played well.”

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Until Paul pulled clear in the deciding set, the Montreal crowd had been treated to an absorbing matchup of fine margins that featured some dramatic all-court rallies and saw both players struggle to capitalise when in strong positions. Paul’s ability to pressure the Alcaraz delivery with concise returning ultimately proved decisive, however, as he converted four from 15 break points to reach the third round for the first time.

INSIGHTS In Attack show that Paul struck 26 per cent of his shots from attacking positions compared to 21 per cent for Alcaraz, giving the American a higher chance of prevailing in the second-round clash according to new analysis from TennisViz.

INSIGHTS In Attack


_{^{Figure 1: In Attack score from 2022 Montreal third-round matchup between Tommy Paul and Carlos Alcaraz.}}

The second-round clash was Alcaraz’s first hard-court outing since he defeated Casper Ruud to seal his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title in Miami in early April. In contrast, Paul kicked off his North American hard-court season with a run to the quarter-finals in Atlanta before he fell to eventual champion Nick Kyrgios in Washington last week. Wednesday’s win makes Paul just the fourth player to defeat Alcaraz after dropping the opening set in an ATP Tour match.

“I think I got him in his first match on the hard courts,” said Paul. “So hopefully when we play next time, he [also] doesn’t have too many hard-court matches [under his belt].”

The USTA on Wednesday announced “The Tennis Plays for Peace Exhibition”, an event to be held on Ukraine Independence Day, 24 August, to benefit the people of Ukraine under the Tennis Plays for Peace programme.

Stars participating in the event include Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Taylor Fritz, Matteo Berrettini, John McEnroe, Coco Gauff, Leylah Fernandez, Iga Swiatek, Jessica Pegula and Victoria Azarenka. They will play a series of singles and mixed doubles matches inside Louis Armstrong Stadium from 7 to 9 p.m.

Tennis Plays for Peace, which is comprised of tennis’ governing bodies and the Grand Slam events, has raised more than $1 million in humanitarian aid and the USTA expects to raise at least $2 million more during the US Open.

“The US Open is a stage that attracts millions of passionate fans, and it is incumbent upon us to help guide this passion to help those who desperately need it,” said USTA Chairman of the Board and President Mike McNulty. “This is a vitally important cause, and I’m proud of the way in which our sport has rallied together to lend a much-needed hand to our friends in Ukraine. I’m likewise proud that we are able to use the global platform of the US Open to enhance the giving effort, and I urge everyone to do all they can to help us show the people of Ukraine that we stand with them in their time of need.”

Tickets for “The Tennis Plays for Peace Exhibition”, which go on sale via TicketMaster on 10 August, are $25 and $50 with 100 per cent of the proceeds going to GlobalGiving, the international non-profit identified by Tennis Plays for Peace. All donations to GlobalGiving’s Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund will support humanitarian assistance in impacted communities in Ukraine and surrounding regions where Ukrainian refugees have fled. 

The event will be hosted by ESPN’s Patrick McEnroe, and ESPN will make The Tennis Plays for Peace Exhibition available on ESPN+. The official domestic broadcaster of the US Open also will provide the program to the US Open’s world feed, and the event will stream on USOpen.org.

The main draw of the US Open begins on 29 August.

The seventh ATP Masters 1000 event of the season is the Western & Southern Open, which is held at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Cincinnati.

Here is everything you need to know about the hard-court tournament:

When is the Western & Southern Open?

The 2022 Western & Southern Open will be held from 14-21 August. The hard-court ATP Masters 1000 tournament, established in 1889, will take place at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. The tournament director is Eric Butorac.

Who is playing at the 2022 Western & Southern Open?

The Western & Southern Open will feature stars including World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev, Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz and Stefanos Tsitsipas.

When is the draw for the Western & Southern Open?

The Cincinnati draw will be made Friday, 12 August at a time to be confirmed.

What is the schedule for the Western & Southern Open 1000 event?

*Qualifying: Saturday 13 August-Sunday 14 August
*Main Draw: Sunday 14 August-Sunday 21 August
*Sunday sessions starting at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.
*Monday-Friday sessions starting at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m.
*Saturday sessions starting at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m.
*Doubles Final: Sunday 21 August at 12 p.m.
*Singles Final: Sunday 21 August at 4:30 p.m.

What is the prize money and points for Cincinnati?

The prize money for the Western & Southern Open is $6,280,880 and the Total Financial Commitment is $6,971,275.

SINGLES
Winner: $970,020/1,000 points
Finalist: $529,710/600 points
Semi-finalist: $289,655/360 points
Quarter-finalist: $157,995/180 points
Round of 16: $84,510/90 points
Round of 32: $45,315/45 points
Round of 56: $25,110/10 points

DOUBLES ($ per team)
Winner: $297,620/1,000 points
Finalist: $161,670/600 points
Semi-finalist: $88,800/360 points
Quarter-finalist: $48,990/180 points
Round of 16: $26,940/90 points
Round of 32: $14,700/0 points

How can I watch Cincinnati?

ATP Tennis Streaming Online – Watch Tennis Live (tennistv.com)
TV Schedule – Cincinnati

How can I follow the Western & Southern Open?

Hashtag: #CincyTennis
Facebook: Western & Southern Open
Twitter: @cincytennis
Instagram: @cincytennis

Who won the last edition of the Western & Southern Open in 2021?

Alexander Zverev won the 2021 Western & Southern Open title with a 6-2, 6-3 victory against Andrey Rublev in the championship match. Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos lifted the doubles trophy, defeating Steve Johnson and Austin Krajicek 7-6(5), 7-6(5) in the final.

Who holds the Cincinnati Masters record for most titles, oldest champion, youngest champion and more?

Most Titles, Singles: Roger Federer (7)
Most Titles, Doubles: Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan (5)
Oldest Champion: Ken Rosewall, 35, in 1970
Youngest Champion: Boris Becker, 17, in 1985
Highest-Ranked Champion: No. 1 John McEnroe in 1981, Andre Agassi in 1995, Pete Sampras in 1997 & 1999, Gustavo Kuerten in 2001, Roger Federer in 2005, 2007, 2009, 2012, and Novak Djokovic in 2020
Lowest-Ranked Champion: No. 49 Tom Gorman in 1975
Last Home Champion: Andy Roddick (2006)
Most Match Wins: Roger Federer (47)

View Who Is Playing, Past Champions, Seeds, Points & Prize Money Breakdown