As one of four American men left in the Round of 16, Tommy Paul shouldn’t have a ton of pressure weighing him down.
The fireworks produced by the rematch of charismatic compatriots Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton rocked the grounds at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Friday. Big-serving 12th seed Taylor Fritz has dominated his three matches, yet to lose a set here. And unseeded Brandon Nakashima is a fresh face who dispatched No. 15 Holger Rune and No. 18 Lorenzo Musetti, confidently advancing to his best result at a major.
Which leaves fans’ attentions dispersed and Paul, the 14th seed, flying a bit under the radar.
Paul has a relatively understated game–one with no obvious, showboating big weapons–and demeanor on court. Idly twirling his racquet between points and skipping about the court, Paul gives off the appearance of an eager junior more than a wily veteran. At 27, though, he is the most senior member of the American gang.
Last month, Paul teamed with good buddy Fritz to win the bronze medal in doubles at the Paris Olympics.
“It's an exciting time,” Paul said after advancing to the fourth round. He was talking about the coterie of American men.
“You know, we all want to do really, really well here. We all want to make it to the last weekend. You know, hopefully at some point we're playing each other in the last weekend. I love having all the other Americans going deep in tournaments, kind of rolling off of each other.”
At last year’s US Open, Paul bowed out to Shelton, the eventual semifinalist, at this very point in the tournament.
In Paul’s third-round, three-and-a-half-hour match against upstart Canadian Gabriel Diallo, the American looked uncharacteristically nervous, as though the opportunity ahead of him–with upset victims Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz suddenly out of the picture–had made him realize: Hey, why not me?
Afterwards, the 6-foot-1 Paul sought to dispel that notion.
“Well, I play the No. 1 in the world [Jannik Sinner] tomorrow, so I don’t know if I’m thinking ‘opportunity’ too much,” Paul said. “I mean, those guys [Shelton and Tiafoe] stepped up and played awesome tennis. Different parts of the draws have opened up, but mine has not. I have a tough match ahead of me, but I'm excited for it.”
If Paul doesn’t bring the firepower or electricity of his compatriots to the court, the native of Voorhees Township, New Jersey, is what they call a tough out. He has no real weaknesses other than a lack of innate power. Paul moves extremely well: he constructs and manages points; he fends off big hitting well; and he rarely beats himself.
"I have a tough match ahead of me, but I'm excited for it.”
One of the criticisms of Paul when he first hit the tour used to be that his work ethic was lacking. That is no longer the case. The American puts in the hard work and has the results to show for it.
Paul, who has been lodged in the Top 20 for the past two years and has been as high as No. 12 in the rankings, has been known to give a number of top-ranked players fits. He owns seven wins over Top 5 players. He has defeated Alcaraz in consecutive years at the ATP Masters 1000 Canada; beaten then No. 2 Rafael Nadal at the 2022 Paris Masters; and is 2-0 over No. 4 Alexander Zverev, most notably at Indian Wells.
Earlier this year, Paul reached the quarterfinal at Wimbledon and in 2023 made his first major semifinal at the Australian Open. He has won three ATP singles titles, including two in 2024: Queen’s Club on grass and indoor hard courts at Dallas.
Obviously Paul will be the underdog in his Round of 16 scuffle with Sinner, surely played in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Labor Day.
“We've had some great matches,” said Paul. “I remember I played him on clay, had some match points against him. Then the last match–I think it was in Toronto–he played awesome. I didn't feel like I did too much wrong. He kind of took the racquet out of my hands. I'm definitely going to try and, you know, make it uncomfortable for him.”
Paul added, “[Sinner] is probably the best ball striker on tour, and I'm not. I don't want to go toe to toe just banging on the baseline with him. I want to try and mix things up.”
Can the laidback American let loose and play like he’s got nothing to lose? This match may be the moment for Paul to make his move.
