Credit: Twitter
Tommy Paul managed to hit the chair umpire during his game against Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz at the Western & Southern Open this Thursday. The mishit serve was played during the American’s Round of 16 fixture and led to the player profusely apologizing to the referee after making his way over to him, after which the referee assured him it was okay. Alcaraz and Paul managed to play a close game, though the reigning Wimbledon champion edged out the American to win 7-6, 6-7, 6-3 and qualify for the quarter-finals.
The game was being played on Center Court when Paul launched the powerful serve. It was completely mishit, however, and the ball arrowed towards the chair umpire. Unfortunately, the umpire didn’t dodge it in time, and was struck on the left side of his face.
Luckily, the strike wasn’t very serious and didn’t hit the umpire’s eye and it appears that any serious and lasting damage was avoided in the end. Paul looked horrified at his shot and profusely apologised to the umpire, rushing towards him immediately after he realised where his shot went.
The umpire said, “It's okay. It's okay. I just... Maybe I... It's good I didn't see it. That's okay”
Watch the video here:
Paul loses hard fought game to Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz continued his dominant year by dispatching Tommy Paul and advancing to the quarter-finals of the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati. The Spaniard was taken to three sets by the American but managed to find his form in the last set to take home the game.
He managed to take revenge on Paul, who beat him earlier this year in the quarterfinals of the Canadian Open. Alcaraz said, “I told everyone that I really wanted [to win] since I lost in Toronto. I came here in Cincinnati and I'm really happy with the level. I think I'm getting better and better. I'm really happy to be in the quarterfinals here.”
