Carlos Alcaraz Dominates Tommy Paul at US Open
Carlos Alcaraz didn’t just return to the US Open. He stormed back and lit up Arthur Ashe Stadium.
After more than four months out with a right wrist injury, the Spaniard looks as if he never left. Tommy Paul found that out the hard way on Sunday night, swept aside 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 by a second seed who is playing with the certainty of a man who already owns New York.
By the end of their two-hour, 20-minute duel, Paul had run out of answers. His coach had run out of superlatives.
A Forehand That Left the Opposing Box Shaking Its Head
Brad Stine has seen just about everything in the sport. Yet even he sounded half-bemused, half-awed when he broke down what Alcaraz had just done to his player’s game.
“Carlos’s forehand was absolutely astounding,” Stine told Tennis Channel, before turning to a line that captured the mood better than any stat sheet. “I actually said yesterday to a couple of people. I want to have them do drug testing on that racket.”
He didn’t stop there.
“I think there’s something. I think that racket’s juiced. It’s got to be juiced. It can’t be him, can it? Because every time he touches the ball with that racket, it just goes. It comes off like a cannon.”
Hyperbole? Maybe. But it matched what the crowd had just watched: Alcaraz stepping in, unloading on forehands, and repeatedly ripping the ball through one of the tour’s quickest defenders. When Paul tried to change patterns, Alcaraz simply shifted gears, carving angles or using his variety to drag the American out of position.
The pressure told in the key moments. Each time Paul sniffed a foothold, Alcaraz slammed the door with a first-strike combination, a sudden injection of pace, or a fearless play on a big point.
A Statement Run After a Long Layoff
This is not a tentative comeback. Through four rounds in New York, Alcaraz has dropped just one set. The rust people expected after his layoff since the Barcelona Open in April has been replaced by a sharp, aggressive version of his game that looks tailor-made for the hard courts and the bright lights.
Paul came in with real belief. The World No. 21 arrived in New York buoyed by a recent win over Alexander Zverev at the Cincinnati Open, a result that underlined his growing status as a threat on hard courts. Against Alcaraz, though, that momentum evaporated as the second seed seized early control of rallies and never really let it go.
The defending champion’s performance carried an extra layer of significance. This wasn’t just another win over a seeded opponent. It was another chapter in a rivalry that has quietly become one of the more intriguing matchups on tour.
A Rare Slice of History
By beating Paul at the US Open, Alcaraz achieved something only a handful of men have managed in the Open Era: he has now defeated the same opponent at all four Grand Slam tournaments.
He becomes just the 10th man to do it, and Paul is the one on the wrong side of that statistic.
Their head-to-head now stands at 7-2 in favor of the Spaniard. They’ve played nine times, and the trend has swung decisively Alcaraz’s way. Before Sunday, their last meeting came in the fourth round of the 2026 Australian Open, where Alcaraz won in straight sets and went on to lift the title.
Paul knew exactly what he was walking into.
“I think I’ve played him more than anybody on tour, for me, which is kind of crazy,” he said before this latest encounter. “But yeah, we’ve had some good matches. One really bad beatdown at the French Open. But he’s the test. Him and Sinner; they’ve been playing great.”
On Ashe, that “test” felt more like an exam no one wants to sit.
Another American Awaits
The defending champion’s path doesn’t get any easier, but it does stay familiar in one sense: another American stands in his way.
With his Round of 16 victory, Alcaraz moves into the quarterfinals to face Ben Shelton. The match is slated for Tuesday, September 8, in the night session, starting at 7:00 p.m. ET, a stage built for big serves, big personalities, and bigger moments.
Shelton will bring the home crowd, the lefty firepower, and the belief that comes with playing under the New York lights. Alcaraz will bring a forehand that has rival coaches joking about racket inspections and a level of tennis that, so far, has made the rest of the draw look a step behind.
If this is what Alcaraz looks like after four months out, the real question for the second week in New York is simple: who, if anyone, can slow him down?
