Tommy Paul logged the biggest win of his career on Day 3 of the Australian Open, defeating No. 18 seed and 2017 semifinalist Grigor Dimitrov, 6-4, 7-6, 3-6, 6-7, 7-6, to progress to the third round of a major for the first time.
Here's more on the 22-year-old, who will play world No. 67 Marton Fucsovics of Hungary in Round 3 for the opportunity to play either No. 3 seed Roger Federer or home-country favorite John Millman in the Round of 16.
The Tommy Paul File
Age: 22
Birthplace: Voorhees, N.J.
Current Rank: 80
Career-High Rank: 79 (Oct, 7, 2019)
Best US Open Finish: First round (2015, 2017)
The Baseline
- Paul had never been past the first round of a major in three previous attempts, losing in the first round of the US Open in 2015 and 2017 and in his first match at the French Open in 2019. He fell in the second round of qualifying in each of the past two years in Melbourne.
- Despite missing the main draw in New York in September, Paul had a fine fall season competing at Challenger-level events. He won titles in Tiburon, Calif., and New Haven, Conn., reached the semifinals in Knoxville, Tenn., and the quarterfinals in Cary, N.C. That set him up for a trip Down Under, and he continued his late-season form with a run to the semis in the Australian Open tune-up event in Adelaide, where he beat three Top-60 players en route to the final four.
- Based purely on ranking, Paul's win over Dimitrov was the second-biggest of his career. He defeated then-world No. 17 Lucas Pouille in straight sets in the Round of 32 in Washington in 2017. He is winless in three meetings with Top-10 players, although he did push Dominic Thiem to four sets at Roland Garros last summer.
- Paul shined as a junior in 2015, winning the French Open boys' title and reaching the final of the US Open junior competition, both against fellow American Taylor Fritz. On the red Parisian clay, Paul beat Fritz, 7-6, 2-6, 6-2, before Fritz returned the favor with a similar score in New York, 6-2, 6-7, 6-2.
- Paul broke into the Top 200 in April 2016 but fell back outside the Top 400 by the same time 12 months later. He was ranked No. 355 as recently as September 2018, but he cracked the Top 100 for the first time in September 2019 and has maintained that position for the past 20 consecutive weeks. He is almost certain to move to a new career high when the next rankings come out after the Australian Open.
