Before American Tommy Paul played defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon quarter-finals, he said the serve is always the most important shot in men’s tennis and it would be something he would like to do very well in the next round.
Paul, who has a great serve, didn’t serve as well as he had hoped, he just hit 60% of his first serve at.
The Spaniard won 12American with seeds 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 in three hours and 11 minutes.
In his post-match press conference, Paul said: “I didn’t serve very well today. I mean, I didn’t find the first service. It’s hard to play someone in charge
hundreds do not serve well in the first services. He was all over me, it felt like. It was not a fun situation.
Photo by Aaron Chown
“I would have liked to serve better. It’s hard to start on offense when he’s serving, and it’s hard to start on offense when he’s starting every point with
second services.
“But yeah, I mean, he played tennis on the first shot better than I did. He was attacked sooner. I think that’s what won that game.”
It was an exciting match to watch under the roof – you could hear the heavy rain coming down – and Paul played a great first set.
In the second set, 3-All in all, the American played a loose game with two double faults – his only of the match – and that was all the Spaniard needed.
From then on, Alcaraz continued to raise his level and in the end, he thought he could do no wrong, crushing serves and hard shots, changing spin and speed with lobs, forehands and volleys.
Paul said of Alcaraz: “When he starts building energy and building momentum, I don’t know, it feels a little different than most other guys. He can play absolutely amazing, amazing tennis.
“Half the job when you’re out there is to not let him get one of those crazy points, because when he does, he kind of gets on a list.”
Alcaraz said in his post-match press conference that he was happy to be back in the Wimbledon semifinals and happy about the level he is playing.
“It is clear that the conditions are different when the roof is open and when the roof is closed”, said the Spaniard.
“I felt the difference playing center and outfield 1. Grass is different.
“Obviously, I feel like there was more sand in the court 1 than the Center Court. I don’t mean holes. There were more matches on the field 1 than the Center Court.
“I had to adjust my game to that. I didn’t feel comfortable playing on the field at all 1 with the conditions therein. Like I said, I had to adapt my game to it. I tried to play my best tennis in it.
“Yeah, I think in the end I found it, I found my best tennis and my good tennis just to feel comfortable in it. It was hard to find him.”
Next for Alcaraz is the fifth Daniil Medvedev.
