Photo credit: Julian Finney/Getty
King of clay Rafael Nadal famously observed “suffering” is a prerequisite to red clay success.
Tommy Paul continues channeling pain into Paris pleasure principle.
Combating a strained abdominal and committed Karen Khachanov, Paul showed a triathlon toughness battling to a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(7), 3-6, 6-3 triumph fighting into his first Roland Garros fourth round in his seventh appearance in Paris.
The man nicknamed T-Pain continues to find joy in punishing battles. Down love-30 when serving for the match, Paul attacked, stinging a pair of forehands and hitting a high-flying forehand volley for match point. A slider serve down the T closed it.
An ecstatic Paul pumped biceps to roaring Court Simonne-Mathieu fans after grinding through his second straight five-set win in four hours, seven minutes.
Red clay has been a sink hole for American men for decades.
This year, Americans are proving to be rugged and resourceful on the red dirt collectively creating a historic run.
No. 13-seeded Ben Shelton followed Paul onto Court Mathieu and continued paving it red, white and terre battue.
In a clash of lefties, Shelton stopped Italian qualifier Matteo Gigante 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 bursting into his maiden Roland Garros round of 16.
It is Shelton’s third fourth round appearance in his last four majors following his trip to the Australian Open semifinals in January.
The 22-year-old Shelton has now reached fourth round or better at all four Grand Slam tournaments.
Photo credit: Jon Buckle/ROLEX
The 12th-seeded Paul and Shelton join No. 15 seed Frances Tiafoe in the French Open fourth round.
Tiafoe dominated No. 23 seed Sebastian Korda 7-6(6), 6-3, 6-4 in the all-American clash today continuing a historic run.
It’s the first time three American men have reached the French Open fourth round since 1994 when Hall of Famers Pete Sampras and Jim Courier and another marathon man, Aaron Krickstein, did it.
Asserting offense in the final set, Paul took more risk and was reward hitting 15 of his 50 winners in the decider.
“I was just trying to win any point any way I could,” Paul told the media in Paris. “And it happened to be later in the match when I started, you know, playing more aggressive.
“For us, I think on any surface when we play, it's about who can get on offense first, because when he's offensive, he's really, really good. He can do everything. When I'm offensive, I feel like that's an uncomfortable position for him. That's what it was about.”
Marathon man Paul battled back from a two-set deficit to defeat Marton Fucsovics in round two.
Known as one of tennis’ fittest players, Paul has proven it so far toiling in the dirt for 10 hours, 45 minutes total through three rounds. A pragmatic Paul said enduring epics is not ideal, but winning is a panacea for pain.
“It's definitely harder than winning straight-set matches. But, I don't know, I feel like that's what we train for,” Paul told the media in Paris. “Definitely happy to get through in any way, whether it's five sets. If I have to play five sets again in the next match, I'll do it.
“Yeah, not too much. You know, obviously your body gets worn down and tired, but yeah, gotta push through it. It's a Grand Slam, you know.”
Americans are making tracks on dirt—Shelton tasted the red clay in a dive today.
Shelton, who has been watching Rafa Nadal videos to prepare for this French Open, said the dirt dive is still a work in progress.
“For them, they dive for the ball, for me, it’s more of a fall. But I’m figuring it out,” Shelton told TNT’s Mary Joe Fernandez immediately after his win.
Two-time Slam semifinalist Shelton caught a break receiving a walkover from Hugo Gaston in round two.
Shelton should see reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz in the fourth round if the second-seeded Spaniard stops Damir Dzumhur tonight.
Overall, Alcaraz is 2-0 vs. Shelton sweeping all four sets they’ve played.
Rome semifinalist Paul has won seven of his last eight red-clay matches and will try to sustain this roll against 25th-seeded Aussie Alexei Popyrin.
The 2024 Canadian Open champion Popyrin pumped 13 aces in a 6-4, 7-6(11), 7-6(5) win over Nuno Borges. Popyrin and Paul have split two meetings with a trip to the Roland Garros quarterfinal riding on the third clash.
“Everyone saw last year him in Canada winning the tournament. He played unbelievable tennis there,” Paul said of Popyrin. “That's what he's capable of. He can take the racquet out of your hand sometimes.
“Hopefully tomorrow or in two days I can use the clay to my advantage and kind of slow things down a little bit. We have played quite a few times, so I guess we know each other's games pretty well. I think we both have ideas of what we want to do on the court in that match. I'm just excited to play. I mean, this is Grand Slam tennis, and this is why we play the sport, you know.”
During his run to the Rome final four, Paul generated global headlines sharing his beloved Ford F-150 truck was repossessed from his driveway—a moment he reviewed in disbelief through security camera video while in the Eternal City.
The 28-year-old Florida resident said in Paris he switched banks and simply forgot to update his auto pay—though Paul conceded he was surprised by how quickly the Repo Man did his work.
“I just changed banking and forgot to set up auto pay on my truck. I missed I think it was like three payments,” Paul told the media in Paris. “They came and took it. I didn't know it happened like that.”
A little digital detective work helped Paul see his truck was repossessed and not stolen as he originally feared. “I'm going back and scrolling and seeing what happened to my truck. I'm like, What the hell is going on?” Paul said. “There's a tow truck coming and taking my car. I thought it was stolen at first. “My first thought wasn't like, you know, auto pay (laughter). But yeah, ended up being repo'd.”