Carlos Alcaraz and Tommy Paul face off this Sunday from 20:00 in the round of 16 of the US Open. The Murcian, very solid in his return to the courts after four months absent due to a wrist injury, is looking for a spot in the quarterfinals of the last Grand Slam of the season after having left Safiullin (triple 6-4), Faria (4-6, 6-0, 6-3, and 6-2), and Wu (6-3, 6-4, and 6-1) behind. Opposite him is the American, who has dropped some sets in his three matches against Wong (6-7(3), 6-1, 6-3, and 6-3), Prizmic (6-2, 6-3, 5-7, and 6-4), and Bublik (6-4, 3-6, 6-7(4), 6-1, and 6-3). This will be the ninth meeting between the two players, and Alcaraz holds the advantage in head-to-head wins: 6-2.
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In the last five encounters between them, the victory has gone to the Spaniard: round of 16 of the 2023 Cincinnati Masters 1000, in 2024 in the Wimbledon quarterfinals and the Olympic Games, in 2025 in the Roland Garros quarterfinals, and in 2026 in the Australian Open round of 16.
Carlos Alcaraz and Tommy Paul are already old acquaintances as they have faced each other eight times on the circuit, with six wins for the Spaniard and two for the American. Paul beat him at the 2022 Canada Masters 1000 and Carlos Alcaraz at the 2023 Miami Masters. That same year, Paul prevailed in the Canada quarterfinals.
In fact, the last player to win the US Open title in consecutive years was Roger Federer, who won five in a row between 2004 and 2008.
The Murcian now seeks to gauge his feelings and why not think about repeating the US Open title that he has already won twice, in 2022 and 2025. In his first final, 2022, he defeated Casper Ruud in four sets and in the last one, last year, he also beat Jannik Sinner in four sets.
In 2026, Carlos Alcaraz had won two titles, the Australian Open and Doha, and played a final, the Montecarlo Masters 1000, before the injury that kept him off the courts for almost five months. His last participation was in April, when he had to retire from the Conde de Godó.
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In major tournaments, he lost to Alcaraz in the Australian Open round of 16 in January, in the Madrid Masters 1000 quarterfinals against Arthur Fils in March, and in the Cincinnati Masters 1000 quarterfinals against Flavio Cobolli as his most notable performances.
A rising Tommy Paul who has played four finals in 2026 but only managed to win one of them, Houston, falling in Delray Beach, Hamburg, and Queen’s.
The American player has eliminated Chak Lam Coleman Wong in the first round, Dino Prizmic in the second, and Alexander Bublik in the third, dropping one set in the first two matches and two sets against Bublik.
The Murcian, now number 3 in the world, defeated Roman Safiullin by a clear 3-0 in the first round, Jaime Faria 3-1 in the second, and Yibing Wu 3-0 in the third. Today he will face Tommy Paul, number 21 in the ATP ranking.
Good afternoon and welcome to the US Open round of 16 match between Tommy Paul and Carlos Alcaraz.
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