It has been a mixed 2025 Roland Garros campaign for the American hopefuls so far. While the likes of Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff have sailed through, the American men’s campaign hasn’t been that great. The fourth seed, Taylor Fritz, crashed out in the opening round against Daniel Altmaier. The hopes now rest on the likes of Tommy Paul, Frances Tiafoe, and Ben Shelton, who have made it to the fourth round. What’s most significant is the fact that it’s been 30 years since 3 American men made it to the second week at Roland Garros (Andre Agassi, Michael Chang, and Jim Courier were the last to do it). Paul is the highest seed remaining for the United States in men’s singles, and recently fellow star Jessica Pegula opened up about his chances ahead.
Earlier today, Pegula had a thrilling three-set victory over the 2023 Wimbledon champion, Marketa Vondrousova. After losing the opening set, the American star came back strongly and won the next two sets to enter the fourth round. After her win, she was asked about the American men’s chances further in the tournament.
At first, Pegula was unsure about who made it through. “Well, who are there? Frances, Tommy, Ben,” she confirmed, while a reporter noted that this was the largest contingent of American men in the fourth round in three decades. “About time,” joked Pegula before adding, “Tommy and I share physios, so I am always keeping up with him and what he is doing, and he’s won two crazy five-set matches.”
She continued, “But no, it’s exciting to see. Obviously you want to see your fellow countrymen do well on the other side. I’m always keeping up to them quite a lot. Yeah, I hope they keep going… Nice, cool. Hope they keep it going.”
Tennis – Wimbledon – All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain – July 9, 2024 Tommy Paul of the U.S. reacts during his quarter final match against Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz REUTERS/Hannah Mckay
Interestingly enough, Tommy Paul hasn’t looked at his glorious best in the tournament; he has had to fight hard to snatch out the victories. Nonetheless, Paul has continued to find a way and is in a good run of form. Not only that, Paul will have a chance to make history if he wins his fourth-round match against Alexei Popyrin.
He can become the first American quarterfinalist at the French Open since Andre Agassi in 2003. Although Paul and Popyrin have a 1-1 H2H head record, the two haven’t faced off on clay, though most predict that Paul will have the edge. Alongside him, there will be two other stars chasing history.
Tommy Paul to lead American trio to history?
Apart from Tommy Paul, the likes of Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe are also actively seeking to break the curse of poor results in the tournament. The trio will play their respective fourth-round matches at the French Open in the coming days, with Tiafoe up against Germany’s Daniel Altmaier and Shelton set to face none other than defending champion Carlos Alcaraz. All three have the opportunity to accomplish what Agassi did last, though admittedly Shelton has the toughest hurdle to overcome of the trio.
Talking about their chances, Paul said, “Coming over to the clay, I used to not be very excited to come out here. I mean, three, four years ago, I definitely wasn’t super comfortable on the clay.”
On the other hand, Tiafoe was confident about progressing through, saying, “It’s just winning matches, man. Guys are confident anywhere. Obviously, you know, we didn’t have the best results. I mean, for me, I don’t imagine on clay ever. Mind’s there. I mean, game is open. Anything can happen. I think it’s super critical not to worry about what was and just worry about what is. Currently we’re at the French Open, and just try to be elite.”
And Shelton? “I think, for me, it’s just figuring out how I can still play my game and adapt slightly to being on the clay and moving on the clay, but still playing an aggressive style of tennis,” he said. “I’m doing a better and better job of not just thinking I have to be 20 feet behind the baseline and play high and heavy, like the traditional clay court game style.”
Will we see Tommy Paul or any of the three make history and enter the quarterfinals of the French Open? Let us know your views in the comments below.
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