“I couldn’t play much worse” said a victorious Tommy Paul after 27-minute opening set
The American eventually saved three match points to edge Frenchman Richard Gasquet, and overcome the home crowd, at the Paris Masters.
On Monday, Tommy Paul stepped onto Court Central at the Rolex Paris Masters to face Frenchman Richard Gasquet. And something about playing at home made the 37-year-old Gasquet come out swinging.
He stunned Paul in a 27-minute opening set, winning it 6-0 and leaving the American to convince himself he “couldn’t play much worse.”
Fighting his way through the second set, Paul was looking to “make as many balls as I can and make the points longer,” Paul said in his post-match interview.
Gasquet’s game slipped, and suddenly they were tied a set a piece.
Paul, building off his momentum in the second, worked his way to a 5-2 lead, looking to serve out the match.
That’s when the crowd truly became a part of this match. The roars, the cheers, the chants—they were screaming ‘Gasquet’ hoping to help their countryman make a comeback. And so did. From 2-5 down to 5-5 to a third-set tiebreak, Gasquet and Paul were now battling through every last point.
Eventually, Gasquet earned three match points.
“At 3-6 in the breaker I was thinking about flights back to the States,” Paul said.
But all three went in Paul’s favor—and he took the next five overall—winning the third set tiebreak 8-6 for an improbable victory.
“It was a crazy match, one of the craziest I’ve ever played,” said Paul when it was all over.