Paul, on Alcaraz: "I have no excuse, he completely outperformed me"
Tommy Paul confesses that he was completely exposed to Carlos Alcaraz: "The way to describe it is that he suffocates you".
Tommy Paul, currently ranked 22nd in the ATP Ranking, was eliminated in the round of 16 of the 2026 Australian Open by a great Carlos Alcaraz. The American player showed his skills from the beginning, breaking serve early on, but the Spanish player had that extra level to secure the victory.
Encouraging tennis from Tommy was on display in that round of 16 match at the Australian Open, although the American left Melbourne feeling completely outplayed by Alcaraz. Minutes after his defeat, Paul explained in a press conference what it feels like to face Carlos, as well as what he finds most enjoyable.
Tommy Paul analyzes his loss against Carlos Alcaraz at the 2026 Australian Open
"I really don't know what made the difference today. The truth is, he played better than me in all three sets. I definitely have no excuses this time; he completely outplayed me. I guess the way to describe it is that he suffocates you. He makes you feel like you have no time, rushes you. Today he exposed me... I hit my forehand poorly, and he noticed it early. I was trying to engage in those forehand rallies, and he did it much better than me. It seemed like he could execute all the patterns he wanted, while I struggled to find the ones I wanted," confessed Tommy Paul in a press conference after losing at the 2026 Australian Open.
"I started much better than him. In that game in the first set, 4-3, when he broke my serve, I couldn't get a first serve in at all. I just felt that when I needed to serve first, I didn't. That's why I think he took control of the match, I don't know. I think I had opportunities to get going a bit, but after that first set, I didn't see many, and he closed the gap quite quickly. His crosscourt forehand was devastating for me, to be honest."
The most enjoyable part of facing Carlos Alcaraz
"The easiest part of playing against him is knowing that you're going to have a good time at least. When we have long rallies, the crowd loves it, we love it. You know you're going to have fun points. You know that, well, we both play great tennis. To me, that means I'm creating good shots and being a great player. Obviously, we've all seen that he does that. That's the fun part of playing against Carlos."
Tommy Paul leaves Australia feeling content
"I want to get back to the top 10, where I feel I belong. I have work to do. Obviously, I dropped a bit in the rankings. Overall, I'm pretty happy with my physical condition and my game in Australia, despite not having played for a while. I feel like I bounced back quickly. So, overall, I'm happy."
This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Paul, sobre Alcaraz: "No tengo ninguna excusa, me superó por completo"