After joining the legacy of names like John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors, Tommy Paul has gained a new fan in the tennis community. As he preps for his third Wimbledon this year, WTA star Eugenie Bouchard reveals why she thinks Paul “can definitely be a contender” for Wimbledon.
In a conversation with Steve Weissman and Andy Roddick on the Tennis Podcast channel, Bouchard not only picked Paul as her favorite for the upcoming grass-court Grand Slam but shared her reasons as well. “Look we talked about which American men or the women are gonna make the finals, who would you pick and I pick the man and I am feeling pretty good about that. He can definitely be a contender. He has the game styles to do it and he is been looking so relaxed as well.”
However, Tommy Paul’s past two years’ endeavors in Wimbledon don’t look very well. In the last two years, he couldn’t advance into Wimbledon’s quarterfinals. Last year, he lost against Jiri Lehecka in the third round and Cameron Norrie defeated him at the round of 16 in 2022. However, his recent victory at the prestigious Queen’s Club Tennis not only brought him his career’s third ATP tour title but also showed his brilliance to the fraternity.
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Bouchard complimented Paul’s calm attitude, which might have helped him to control his pace and emotions against a competitive player like Lorenzo Musetti yesterday in Berlin. “He doesn’t look the big moments get to him and going into Grand Slams, that is such a great and important mentality to have I mean he won this tournament and he look like he won it for Champagne more than the trophy”- said Bouchard about Paul.
Now, Bouchard’s assessment can’t be ignored since Tommy Paul’s form appears to be at a great stage ahead of Wimbledon. After Sam Querrey in 2010, Paul is the other American to bag this title. This victory also brings Tommy Paul’s name with other American former tennis legends like John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, and Pete Sampras, who all won Wimbledon too. From that perspective, Bouchard’s feelings about Tommy Paul looked appropriate to the fraternity.
On the other hand, Paul expressed a humble personality after winning the prestigious Wimbledon warm-up title. He also didn’t hesitate to compliment his opponent Musetti showing a great gesture of healthy professionalism.
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Tommy Paul says he felt “unbelievable” after winning the prestigious Queen’s Club Tour with other American legends
America’s Tommy Paul defeated Lorenzo Musetti by 6-1 and 7(10)- 6(8) yesterday in a match of 88 minutes. Post-victory, Paul impressed all with his humble message. “Hearing about the names [of previous winners] in the locker room, it is unbelievable. It was my goal to put my name next to them, Thank you to my whole team”- said the American ATP star overwhelmed with emotions.
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Tommy Paul further went on to compliment Musetti. “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 proven everyone wrong, He’s obviously a force on the grass courts and is comfortable on it and plays very, very well on it”- said the world’s number 12 tennis player.
Nevertheless, Eugenie Bouchard’s compliments of Tommy Paul showcase the American tennis player’s hard work to improve on grass surfaces. Following his Queen Club victory, this ATP star might prove Bouchard right with his grounded mentality and brilliant playstyle.