Coco Gauff, Taylor Fritz and other tennis players react to Tommy Paul's surprise win over Carlos Alcaraz at Canadian Open

Tommy Paul pulled off his biggest victory on the ATP Tour to date, beating Carlos Alcaraz in the second round of the 2022 Canadian Open. The American looked on course for an early exit from the tournament after going a set and a break down but pulled himself up by the bootstraps, saving a match point in the second to win in three sets.

From 1-4 down in the second set, Paul roared back to take the set in a tiebreaker that stretched to 16 points and proceeded to wrap up the contest with a break of serve in the decider to win 6-7(4), 7-6(7), 6-3 win.

The victory marked the World No. 34's third top-10 victory this year, having already beaten Matteo Berrettini and Alexander Zverev. The 25-year-old's display against the second seed received a lot of praise from tennis fans on social media, a sentiment shared by his colleagues as well.

Fellow Americans Coco Gauff, Taylor Fritz, Madison Keys and Jennifer Brady all took to Instagram to react to the post he shared after his Montreal heroics against Alcaraz.

Gauff and Keys commented with fire emojis to hail Paul, while Brady opted for a clapping emoji. Fritz, meanwhile, had a series of emojis that included the Mexican flag -- perhaps a reference to the fact that some of the American's best victories (defeating Zverev in the 2020 edition and Berrettini in the 2022 edition) have come at the Mexican Open in the past.

Tennis channel commentator Prakash Amritraj also shared his appreciation for the 25-year-old, replying "Expendables 4 star" under his post, while Cameron Norrie added emojis of a dog and a puppy to showcase his approval.

Tommy Paul takes on Marin Cilic in the third round of the Canadian Open

Tommy Paul takes on Marin Cilic in the third round of the Canadian Open

Following his victory over Carlos Alcaraz, Tommy Paul will square off against Marin Cilic in the third round of the 2022 Canadian Open. The Croat defeated Karen Khachanov in straight sets in the second round in Montreal to set up a meeting with the American.

Cilic has won all two meetings against Paul on the ATP tour previously, including at the Adelaide International earlier this year. A victory against the 13th seed on Thursday would pit the World No. 34 against either Dan Evans or compatriot Taylor Fritz in the quarterfinals.

Seventh seed Jannik Sinner is the heavy favorite to reach the semifinals in the third quarter, while Nick Kyrgios is now in prime position to reach the final from the top half of the draw.