Tommy Paul shared his thoughts on facing Carlos Alcaraz ahead of their quarterfinal match at the 2025 French Open. This encounter will mark the seventh meeting between the two players on the ATP Tour.
In the lead-up to the Grand Slam tournament, both Paul and Alcaraz competed at the 2025 Italian Open. Paul reached the semifinals, where he lost to Jannik Sinner, while Alcaraz went on to claim the title by overcoming Sinner in the final.
Tommy Paul Makes His Feelings Known About Facing Carlos Alcaraz at the 2025 French Open QF
Paul is seeded 12th at the French Open and began his campaign by defeating lucky loser Elmer Møller in the first round, winning 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-3, 6-1. He then advanced to the second round, where he triumphed over Márton Fucsovics with a scoreline of 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-5, 6-4.
The former World No. 9 registered a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(7), 3-6, 6-3 win over 24th seed Karen Khachanov and a 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 win over 25th seed Alexei Popyrin in the third and fourth rounds, respectively to secure his place in the quarterfinals, where he will take on Alcaraz. This marks the first time Paul has reached the last eight at the clay-court Major.
In the post-match press conference following his victory over Popyrin, Paul reflected on his upcoming match against Alcaraz. He recalled their previous encounter at Roland Garros during the 2024 Paris Olympics, noting that he played a “decent match” despite the loss.
“I mean, we actually played here not even a year ago, at the Olympics, and I felt like I played a decent match. I know a lot of things that I could have done better and I had a couple set points I think in the second set and ended up losing in straight sets,” Paul said.
While acknowledging and praising Alcaraz’s performance at the French Open, the former World No. 9 stated that he is entering their quarterfinal match with some “new ideas” as to how to defeat him.
“Obviously the guy can play amazing tennis here I mean, defending champion and everything. But I think we would go into the match with some good new ideas,” he added.
A Look Into Tommy Paul & Carlos Alcaraz’s Head-to-Head Record Ahead of French Open QF
Paul and Alcaraz have faced each other six times on the ATP Tour, with the Spaniard emerging victorious in four of those encounters. Their most recent clash took place in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Paris Olympics, where Alcaraz triumphed with a scoreline of 6-3, 7-6(7). Following this victory, the former World No. 2 went on to secure the silver medal, his first Olympic medal, after falling to Novak Djokovic in the final.
Ahead of their upcoming meeting in the quarterfinals of the 2025 French Open, it is worth noting that Alcaraz and Paul have faced each other only once at a Grand Slam event. The encounter occurred during the quarterfinals of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships, where Alcaraz claimed victory with a scoreline of 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2. The Spaniard subsequently went on to defeat Djokovic in the final, capturing his second consecutive Wimbledon title.
Paul’s two victories over Alcaraz have come at the Canadian Open. He first faced the former World No. 1 in the second round of the 2022 Canadian Open, winning 6-7(4), 7-6(7), 6-3. The following year, they met again at the ATP 1000 event in the quarterfinals, where Paul secured another win with a scoreline of 7-6(6), 6-7(0), 6-3.
