The Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal duo is currently being viewed as the clear favorite at the Paris Olympics. While there’s a high chance of winning gold for the 4-time grand slam champion in the doubles category, his singles campaign is also proving to be exceptional. After his recent win over Hady Habib, Alcaraz is now looking forward to facing Tommy Paul in the quarter-finals.

With Taylor Fritz’s recent exit from the men’s singles, Paul stands to be the bearer of expectations for American fans. As he’s set to face the French Open champion up next, the showdown is anticipated to crack high levels of intensity. Here are the odds and pick!

Tommy Paul vs Carlos Alcaraz: Preview

Currently ranked World No. 13 in the ATP Men’s Tennis rankings, Tommy Paul began his campaign with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Italy’s Luciano Darderi. He also took down Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic, with a commendable scoreline of 6-3, 6-1. He continued his strong performance in the third round, defeating French crowd favorite Corentin Moutet 7-6 (7-5), 6-3. This didn’t just extend his Paris Olympics campaign but also added more to his remarkable 10-3 win-loss record on clay.

Carlos Alcaraz, on the other side, has been outstanding in the past couple of years. He started this year strong with a title win at the Indian Wells Open. The Spaniard also made it to the quarterfinals at both the Miami Open and the Madrid Open. Adding more to his portfolio, Alcaraz won his second Wimbledon title by defeating Novak Djokovic in straight sets. Along with his Wimbledon and French Open victories this year, he is now a favorite for the Paris Olympics in 2024. He currently sits on a massive 10-match winning streak and has an 84 percent win rate this season.

Paul vs Alcaraz: Head-to-head

In their amazing careers of taking down even the top-ranked competitors, Tommy Paul has faced Carlos Alcaraz for a total of 5 times. Although the Spaniard always manages to stay on the heavier side, Paul has drawn two massive wins against him, standing just one match behind him with the current score of 2-3.

• 2022 Canadian Open R32: Paul 6-7, 7-6, 6-3
• 2023 Miami Masters R16: Alcaraz 6-4, 6-4
• 2023 Canadian Open R32: Paul 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
• 2023 Cincinnati Masters R16: Alcaraz 7-6, 6-7, 6-3
• 2024 Wimbledon QF: Alcaraz 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2

Prediction: Alcaraz to win in three sets

Carlos Alcaraz has been in excellent form this week, dropping a perfect example of his skills by defeating Safiullin and making it to the last eight. He won 80 percent of his first serve points and hit 21 winners against 11 unforced errors, but Tommy Paul has been exceptional as well. He faced a tough challenge from Moutet which ended with him winning 68% of points on first serve and 58% on second serve. However, his levels of play were inconsistent in the previous rounds, a flaw that could be a problem against Alcaraz.

The Spaniard has a powerful serve which often touches commendable marks of 125-130 mph. He can easily take big swings at returns, building points with his forehand. The Spaniard also utilizes his inside-out forehand to pressure opponents’ backhands and finishes points with his inside-in forehand.

His compact swings also allow him a quick direction change, giving his rivals a tough time. His aggressive baseline play and powerful forehands and backhands, tend to give him an upper hand, especially on clay, as he can add heavy topspin to these shots.

Paul, however, has also shown a good command over clay. He has won 77% of his service games on the surface this year. He loves to make his opponent run around the court, which could have worked against Alcaraz, if not for his endless pit of stamina. Looking at his current form, the Spaniard is expected to win the upcoming match in three sets, but Paul can give him a good fight.