American Tommy Paul dazzled in his Round 3 singles match on Wednesday, when the No. 9 seed secured his spot into his first Olympic quarterfinals by defeating France’s Corentin Moutet, 7-5, 6-3.
Paul pulled deep to punch through the crowd’s rallying cries for home country hero Moutet. Down at 2-4, Moutet, galvanized by the French fans, broke Paul to quickly tie the game score. Before long, the men — both adorned in red, white and blue — found themselves in an exhilarating tiebreaker. Spectators were on the edge of their seats as Moutet saved two set points before finally succumbing to Paul in the first set.
With a set stowed away, Paul powered through the second set, and demanded a win, as he approached the net 35 times en route to capturing the second match and the game.
Paul’s victory on clay marks the first time since 2016 that an American man has made it to the quarterfinals at the Olympics, and he is the 10th man to do so since the return of tennis to the Olympic program in 1988.
Paris is Paul’s second Olympic appearance, and bests his last showing in Tokyo, when he was knocked out in Round 1. Paul is a regular and enthusiastic member of the men’s U.S. Davis Cup team and noted post-match how the Olympics have elevated that team bond for him.
“It feels so different [from singles events], but then you get on the court and tennis is tennis,” Paul told the press about playing for Team USA. “I would say the biggest thing is I like being on a team.”
"I was here until 9.30 p.m. (last night) sprinting from Court 14 to (Court) Simonne-Mathieu to watch Taylor [Fritz’s] third set breaker in the doubles last night. I mean, that's fine. It wears down on the body, but it's so much fun and anytime you can play with 'USA' on your back, you love it.”
Paul’s prize for his quarterfinal victory? A semifinal scrap with four-time Grand Slam champion and recently crowned Prince of Clay, Carlos Alcaraz. The pair are scheduled to play on Court Philippe-Chatrier at 8 a.m. E.T. on Thursday.