It was a historic day for the American men at Roland-Garros on Sunday. Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe became the first American men to reach the French Open quarterfinals since Andre Agassi in 2003.
Prior to his win over Alexei Popyrin, Paul had to battle for his spot in the fourth round. Karen Khachanov and Marton Fucsovics pushed Paul to five sets in the third and fourth rounds, respectively. Despite those challenges, Paul cruised in straight sets against Popyrin to make some history.
Paul hit one clutch shot after another to put away Popyrin, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3. His best shot of the day may have come when he ripped an excellent backhand right down the line in the first set.
Tiafoe had a more difficult time taking down his fourth-round opponent, Daniel Altmaier, but only slightly. Tiafoe also won in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4). Tiafoe has now won every set at this year’s tournament, making him the first American man to reach the French Open quarterfinals without losing single set since Agassi in 1995.
In Agassi’s 2003 French Open quarterfinal, he fell to Argentinian Guillermo Coria. Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain would go on to win the title.
The 28-year-old Paul had never advanced past the third round of the French Open until this year, and now he’s one of the last eight players left at Roland-Garros. According to the Associated Press, Paul is now the only active American tennis player to reach the final eight on three different surfaces at Grand Slam events.
Paul takes on the winner of Ben Shelton and Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals. That match is slated for Tuesday, so Paul has some time to recover from his dominant performance in the fourth round.
