Tommy Paul will become the number one in American men’s tennis for the first time in his career on Monday after defeating Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti to win the Queen’s title in London.
Paul, currently ranked No. 13, will replace compatriot Taylor Fritz as world No. 12 following his 6-1, 7-6(8) victory over world No. 30 Musetti, who will rise to No. 25 on Monday. .
His high energy, precise movements and moments of cunning overwhelmed Musetti in the first set. Paul built first a 3-0 lead and then a 5-1 lead, appearing at times as if he were floating on grass, a surface on which he had never before won a title. It looked as if he had broken the end of the match when he broke Musetti’s serve and quickly held serve to go 5-3 up, but the Italian recovered impressively, hitting a stunning backhand return winner down the line to recover and level. the match. 5-5.
Paul used his forehand to control the pace of the match throughout the match. (Photo: Clive Brunskill//Keynote USA/Getty Images)
He then took a 4-1 lead in the tiebreak as Paul botched his execution for the first time in the entire match, but the American recovered by reestablishing the inside-out forehand-to-backhand pattern that had helped him win. the first set. so comfortably. Musetti had managed to mitigate that attack route using his formidable slice and his ability to consistently and accurately block serve returns on both wings, but Paul was able to reintroduce him when necessary, even after missing a regulation smash at 4-4 after of a cat -and-mouse point.
This is the third and biggest ATP Tour title of the 27-year-old’s career, having previously won two ATP 250 events in Stockholm and Dallas. He will now look towards Wimbledon on July 1 with more confidence to make a deep run, hoping to build on a semi-final at the 2023 Australian Open, which is his best Grand Slam result to date.
What this title means to Pablo
Paul, who grew up in North Carolina and Florida, was always by far the best American in his age group, the so-called “97” (the year of his age group), which included Paul, Frances Tiafoe, Reilly Opelka and Fritz. Fritz was the worst of all by far.
And then, for the next 10 years, everything got mixed up. Paul struggled with motivation problems. So did Tiafoe, after a rapid rise to the top 30. Opelka, who stands almost 7 feet tall, surprised people with his serve, but struggled to try to get a running game to go with it and then succumbed to the injuries that Still fighting to return. As for Fritz, he worked his way into the top 10 and has been the top American for the past two years.
But a decade later, what was old was new again on Sunday when Paul won the Cinch Championship at the Queen’s Club, where he beat Musetti in the final to achieve the biggest victory of his career. It was the second title of the season for Paul, which is shaping up to be the best of his career. He won the Dallas Open in February, reached the semifinals of Indian Wells in March and the semifinals of the Italian Open in May. When the new rankings are released on Monday, Paul will claim the No. 12 spot, one notch ahead of Fritz and two ahead of Ben Shelton.
Paul has been quite open about where his journey took a wrong turn: He turned pro too soon, he said, shortly after winning the junior title at the French Open in 2015. Simply put, he wasn’t ready and should have spent a couple of years. of years maturing at the University of Georgia, which he had planned to do all along, rather than learning the hard way how hard professional tennis players have to work to move up the ranks.
Paul, now 27, will head to Wimbledon hoping to make a deep run on grass, a surface he is still finding his way on. He has played deep in a Grand Slam before, reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Open in 2023, but has not made it past the fourth round anywhere else. He reached the round of 16 at Wimbledon in 2022.
Like many others, Paul will probably go as far as his service on the grass takes him. He can sometimes serve in the mid-130s and follow up with big forehands from inside the baseline and an increasingly aggressive game that leads him to finish points at the net much more than he used to. Now it’s just a matter of putting all that in the midst of the greatness of the All England Club, with the eyes of his country looking for great things from the new American top. — Matthew Futterman, Tennis Staff Writer
Pegula wins in Berlin
Paul’s compatriot Jessica Pegula also won her first grass-court title on Sunday, after beating American women’s number one and doubles partner Coco Gauff in their rain-affected semi-final that morning in Berlin.
Pegula needed to win just four more points after resuming play at 7-5, 6-6 (3-1).
In the final, the World No. 5 saved five championship points against Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya to win 6-7 (0-7), 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), after having been down 4 -1 in the decisive set. Pegula skipped the French Open, despite feeling that playing was possible, to focus on the upcoming grass season, and her decision appears to have paid off.
(Photo: Zac Goodwin/PA Images via /Keynote USA/Getty Images)
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