“I couldn’t play much worse” said a victorious Tommy Paul after 27-minute opening set

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.