Tommy Paul: Best is yet to come for new US No 1 after impressive Queen’s victory

Tommy Paul has long been the unheralded star of American men’s tennis.

While the likes of Taylor Fritz , Frances Tiafoe , and Ben Shelton attracted big attention and bigger headlines, Paul quietly plucked away, moving up the ATP pecking order steadily.

But, with the third title of his career at the Queen’s Club, beating Lorenzo Musetti in the final, Paul will finally receive the attention he has often deserved.

This was a final of contrasting styles; Musetti is the flashier player of the two, but the US star is more consistent across all elements.

And, as the score ticked to 6-1, 5-3 in the fifth seed’s favour, it looked as if consistency would comfortably win the day.

The American had not put a foot wrong up until that point but, much like his semi-final against Sebastian Korda , nerves were evident when trying to get over the line.

Paul failed to serve out the match and was then forced to save set point in an engrossing tiebreak, finally converting a third match point to seal a 6-1, 7-6(8) triumph – emulating past American winners such as John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors.

“I have loved recently, over the past two or three years, watching older videos of people playing and the names that are on that trophy or in the locker room or on the walls here, it’s amazing,” said Paul.

“So I am very, very happy to put my name next to those. Hopefully we can do it again.

“Not only is it my biggest title so far, it’s one of the coolest tournaments in the world, has some of the most history of any tournament. It’s definitely an amazing one to win, and I’m proud of it and I’m very, very happy about it.

“[Musetti], he’s a great kid. I have known him since he kind of broke onto the tour. We have done quite a few practices together. We have played doubles together.

“Watching him play on grass the past two or three years has been really cool. I think everyone kind of thought of him as a clay court player, and he’s kind of proved everyone wrong. He’s obviously a force on the grass courts and is comfortable on it and plays very, very well on it.

“It was really cool to finally play each other, and to play each other in the finals of a tournament like this was amazing – I’m pretty happy with the result.”

This is by far the most prestigious title of his career and takes him back to his career-high of 12th in the ATP Rankings.

However, by replacing Fritz in that spot, he will become the US No 1 for the first time on Monday – and it is hard to see him settling solely for this after continuing improvements in the past three seasons.

Paul has a game that can work on all surfaces, and with a newfound aggressive mindset, which he has spoken about frequently this week, he will likely cause more damage on tour.

He will be the 12th seed at Wimbledon, but having reached the last four of the Australian Open in 2023, it is hard to rule out a similar run at the All England Club – or at other Slams in the near future.

With the game looking more open post ‘big three’ there will be more opportunities for players to regularly perform well at Slams, and crack the top 10; who would say Paul couldn’t do either?

He added: “I have been at [world No] 12. My goal starting the year was to win more tournaments, take home more trophies and try and get into the top 10, a top-10 player. To do that, obviously you’ve got to win tournaments.

“I’m really happy with the result today, but, you know, I’m still not top 10. So that’s the goal. That was the goal starting the year.

“I wouldn’t say anything’s changed.”

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