BY JAMES BECK
Carlos Alcaraz appeared to be totally puzzled and out of it in last week’s quarterfinals in Toronto against hard-hitting Tommy Paul.
That’s the first time Alcaraz has looked real in a good while. So, maybe it was just a match the young Italian didn’t prepare for. He looked beatable from the word go against Paul.
It was Paul that looked like the No. 1 player in the world, although the American is far from being a candidate for the top ladder of the men’s tour.
Paul has a one-dimensional game, all power off the ground and from the service line. Too many errors when he’s facing a player capable of taking the No. 1 ranking for himself such as Jannik Sinner.
SINNER EXPOSED PAUL’S GAME
Sinner exposed the now 13th-ranked Paul in the next round in the later stages of both sets, 6-4, 6-4.
Of course, the now sixth-ranked Sinner went on to crush Alex de Minaur by winning eight of the last nine games for a 6-4, 6-1 victory and his first ATP Masters 1000 title. The long-legged Italian seems to be in total control of not just his game, but also his court demeanor and concentration. He appears to have found a new gear in his game.
Sinner’s serves and ground strokes can be lights out. If he can just stay healthy through the U.S. Open, he definitely is capable of shocking the tennis world in New York.
For a player turning just 22 years old on Aug. 16, Sinner is an impressive talent. His ground strokes can be like a bolt of lightning.
THE BIG QUESTION IS NOW ALCARAZ
Surely Alcaraz will get his act back together in New York, whether he fails to win Cincinnati or not.
Sinner is just another point of concern for Alcaraz or Novak Djokovic as the 6-2 Italian breaks into the U.S. Open depth chart along with former champion Daniil Medvedev and fourth-ranked Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Tsitsipas is the only one of the Big Four who hasn’t won the U.S. Open. But the sometimes hot-headed Greek reportedly has a new girl friend, Paula Badosa, to maybe push him a little extra.
LOOK OUT FOR PEGULA
On the women’s side, Jessica Pegula’s romp through Montreal also might serve as a warning that the 29-year-old American could be ready to challenge for the top spot in the women’s game.
Pegula’s game can be almost flawless with possibly the best and most consistent ground strokes on the women’s tour. When it came time to get tough against red-hot doubles partner Coco Gauff in the Montreal quarterfinals, Pegula was a picture of consistency to nail down the third set.
The semifinals against top-ranked Iga Swiatek went much the same way in the third set.
Pegula is a strong player with total control of her mind and game. She could be tough to beat in New York.
Pegula limited tall Liudimila Samsonova to just one game in the final, even though the 5-11 Russian had upended the top Russian, now fourth-ranked Elena Rybakina, in the Montreal semifinals.
Now that it’s Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka, Pegula and Rybakina in that order at the top of the WTA rankings, it will be a wide open race for the U.S. Open crown.
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James Beck was the 2003 winner of the USTA National Media Award. A 1995 MBA graduate of The Citadel, he can be reached at Jamesbecktennis@gmail.com.
