Ons Jabeur, Carlos Alcaraz among must-see tennis on Tuesday

The last time we saw Carlos Alcaraz he was surprisingly losing to Tommy Paul in the quarterfinals of the National Bank Open. We have gotten so accustomed to Alcaraz winning that any loss at all is a bit of a shock to the system. Maybe he is beatable after all.

The last time we saw Ons Jabeur, she was losing a heartbreaking final to Marketa Vondrousova at Wimbledon. Jabeur is a top player, and she has reached several Grand Slam finals over the last year, but her mental strength to take one of those finals is still in question. Fortunately for Jabeur, she doesn’t play in a final on Tuesday but only a second-round match.

Carlos Alcaraz and Ons Jabeur both play in matches that make Tuesday an extremely exciting day at the Western and Southern Open, assuming the rain holds off more on Tuesday than it did on Monday. Jabeur will take on Anhelina Kalinina, while Carlos Alcaraz will play Jordan Thompson. Thompson is no slouch, however, so Alcaraz might have a tougher match than expected.

Carlos Alcaraz and Ons Jabeur in action on Tuesday

Another match to hit your record button for is Arthur Fils versus Ugo Humbert. This will feature two of the better young French players. I made a guess a couple of weeks ago that Fils, who simply glides around the court, could be a future long-term challenger to Alcaraz, but we aren’t quite there yet. Still, Fils and Humbert should display some fantastic tennis.

Alexander Zverev and Grigor Dimitrov, both playing very good tennis over the last couple of months, will also face off. They have played five times before with Zverev winning the last four. The last time Dimitrov defeated Zverev was in Basel in 2014.

Finally, Novak Djokovic is back playing doubles. He will team up with fellow Serb Nikola Cacic. This will mark only the second time Djokovic will play a doubles match on the ATP tour. His most recent foray into doubles ended up in a first-round loss at the 2023 Adelaide 1 tournament.