Urged on by a "strategically" seated young fan, Tommy Paul wins from two sets down for first time

NEW YORK—Tommy Paul had already recovered, and then some, from a two-set deficit. What were another two break points?

Serving for the match, the 14th-seeded American calmly wiped away Roman Safiullin’s pair of opportunities, and then sent a capacity, partisan crowd on intimate Court 17 into late-night delirium.

“I didn’t really give them too much to cheer for the first two sets,” Paul said. “I know I could, like, feel it. Everyone was getting a little frustrated.”

Two hours and five minutes after falling behind two sets, Paul emerged victorious—thanks, in no small part, to one particular fan. Each time Paul went to towel off in one corner of the 2,800-seat arena, a young boy ensured his hero stayed positive.

“[He] definitely sat down strategically. He wanted to be in my ear the whole match,” Paul said with a laugh. “He was encouraging me—I mean, damn near coaching me (smiling). I had to go over there and give him some love.”

It was cool. He wanted to win the match as bad as I did. Tommy Paul

Paul’s 3-6, 2-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 win over the 60th-ranked Russian was an escape in one sense, given the predicament the New Jersey native found himself in after just an hour and seven minutes. But the diligent way he rallied in points, and rallied all the way back to victory—Paul had never before won a match after losing the first two sets—is emblematic of the lofty status he occupies. He didn’t need an electric fourth-set tiebreaker to help push him past the finish line, or a pivotal point to go his way. He didn’t benefit from a fatigued opponent, and Safiullin’s form really didn’t drop much over the final three sets.

“I don’t think my opponent wore out or anything,” Paul said. “I just wanted to change something. I knew something had to change, so I was thinking about that when I changed my clothes.

“I came back out and I was like, Hopefully I can change more than just my clothes, I can change this match, you know?”

Paul said he wanted to get Safiullin to come to net more from the third set on. He succeeded: After coming to net nine times over the first two sets, Safiullin ventured forward 23 times over the final three. The surprise Wimbledon quarterfinalist wasn’t a sitting duck in the front court, but Paul managed to get his opponent out of his rhythm, all while settling into a comfort zone of his own.

His serving helped: Paul was broken just once over the last three sets. In the fourth set, Paul landed 22 of 26 first serves, and won 19 of those 22 points.

“I mean, I just broke and I didn’t get broken.” Paul said matter-of-factly. “It was probably the biggest difference.”

Tonight also may have been as simple as Paul being Paul: one of the closest things there is to a (red, white and) blue-chip American on the ATP Tour. Just one spot off his career-high ranking of No. 13, which he attained earlier this month, he has now won at least two matches at five of the last six majors. He has two wins over Carlos Alcaraz this year, and he also took the scintillating Spaniard to a third set in Cincinnati. (All of their matches have come on hard courts.) He began the season with a semifinal run at the Australian Open, and is a trendy pick to repeat that feat at this hard-court Slam.

With No. 4 seed Holger Rune and No. 5 seed Casper Ruud already eliminated, Paul may now be seen as a final-four favorite. He’ll next face Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, whom Paul has defeated twice this season, including in a five-setter in Melbourne. (“Hopefully we have a full-on war,” Paul said, “and the better man wins.”) A tantalizing quarterfinal against compatriot Frances Tiafoe is possible.

Paul will surely need some things to break his way for another deep run at a major. But while there was no luck in his triumph tonight, having a good-luck charm doesn’t hurt.

“I told him [after], like, Dude, you have to come to the next one,” said Paul of his big-little fan. “Get in contact with me, message me on Instagram or whatever and we’ll get it hooked up.”