It was a monumental day for American men’s tennis at Roland-Garros on Sunday as Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe made history by being the first American men to reach the French Open quarterfinals since Andre Agassi in 2003.
Before advancing past Alexei Popyrin, Paul faced tough matches against Karen Khachanov and Marton Fucsovics, both of whom challenged him in five sets. However, Paul won decisively against Popyrin with a score of 6-3, 6-3, 6-3. One standout moment was when he executed a perfect backhand down the line in the first set.
“Down the line perfection from Tommy Paul 馃憣 #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/ee5WbYR9ey”
Translation: This refers to Tommy Paul hitting an excellent shot down the line, impressively highlighted on social media.
Frances Tiafoe also triumphed over his fourth-round opponent, Daniel Altmaier, winning in straight sets 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4). Impressively, Tiafoe has not lost a single set in the tournament, becoming the first American man since Agassi in 1995 to reach this stage of the French Open without dropping a set.
In his 2003 quarterfinal, Agassi was defeated by Guillermo Coria of Argentina. Following him, Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain claimed the title that year.
At 28 years old, Paul had never made it past the third round at the French Open until this year, now standing among the final eight competitors. According to the Associated Press, Paul is currently the only active American player reaching the final eight on three different surfaces at Grand Slam events.
Paul’s next match will be against the winner of the contest between Ben Shelton and Carlos Alcaraz, scheduled for Tuesday, allowing him some recuperation time following his impressive fourth-round victory.
