Tommy Paul claimed the biggest win of his career after a tight victory over Rafael Nadal in Paris. The American won 3-6 7-6(4) 6-1 and condemned the 22-time Major champion to back-to-back defeats for the first time this season.
Nadal ran out of the blocks quickly and led by a set and a break, before losing his momentum. He got broken back immediately at 2-1 up in set two before losing the set 7-4 in the tie-break.
Paul accelerated in the decider, breaking three times en route to victory against a visibly struggling Nadal.
Pablo Carreno Busta will be Paul’s 3rd round opponent after his three set win over Denis Shapovalov earlier on Wednesday.
Following the stunning win, Paul said ‘it’s probably my best win,’ before admitting that he was feeling extra motivation for a match against the Spaniard. ‘I was obviously pumped for the matchup because it’s always interesting when you play one of the Big Three.’
‘I’ve only played him the second time, but the first time I was so nervous. It was weird, this time I wasn’t really nervous. I was pretty relaxed going onto the court and the day before. I think that played a role. I came out playing pretty well. He got the first set, but I feel like I played pretty well from the jump,’ he added.
Nadal Confident of Playing ATP Finals
36-year-old Nadal has struggled this season with an ongoing foot issue and an abdominal tear, which saw him withdraw before his Wimbledon semi-final against Kyrgios.
Nadal also became a parent three weeks ago to a baby son alongside wife Maria Francisca Perello. The Spaniard was making his first singles appearance since the US Open in late August, and now has two weeks to recover before the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.
Nadal said after his loss that he still plans to participate in the year-end championships, a tournament he has not won before, but was less than confident about his chances of winning this year. ‘ I hope to be there. No, I’m excited about playing, even if it hasn’t been the perfect couple of months for me, of course. But, yeah, nothing to lose.’
‘Of course, I mean, for me difficult to imagine now arriving in the World Tour Finals in shape, in enough good shape to win a tournament like this one that I didn’t win during all my tennis career.’
