The seeded n ° 12, Tommy Paul, the seeded n ° 13 Ben Shelton and the seeded n ° 15 Frances Tiafoe won on Friday to ensure that at least three Americans will reach the round of the France 16 in Roland Garros in Paris.
Paul won a five sets for the second consecutive round, beating the head of Russian Russian n ° 24 Karen Khachanov 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7), 3-6, 6-3 in four hours and seven minutes. In the previous round, Paul joined after Hungary Marton Fucsovics 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4.
Paul’s biggest opponent was the lower abdominal injury in which he fought in most of the tournament. But he joked to journalists after beating Khachanv that he felt “like a million dollars”.
“I love this thing, it’s so fun to play here, honestly,” said Paul. “Not all matches last four hours, but it was an impressive battle at the two ends of the field. We both played well and that’s what it is.”
Faced with a difficult third round opponent in Khachanov, Paul won 69 of the 100 points in the first service, saved 9 of the 15 break points and converted 6 of the 12 opportunities to break the Russian service.
Paul’s next match will be against the seeded n ° 25 Alexi Popyrine of Australia, which eliminated the Nuno Borges 6-4, 7-6 (11) of Portugal, 7-6 (11), 7-6 (5).
Tiafoe, meanwhile, won the All-American match against the seeded n ° 23 Sebastian Korda 7-6 (6), 6-3, 6-4
“I think we all push ourselves and work hard,” said Tiafoe about the current harvest of American male tennis stars. “There is a window in the game, many guys see a lot of opportunities and it helps when you see that peers manage well. It becomes a normality that we are deep in slams and that we are no longer a surprise.”
Although Tiafoe reached the United States semi-finals in 2022 and 2024, he was less successful to the other Grand Slam and that marked his first time in the fourth round in Roland Garros. The next step for Tiafoe is Daniel Altmaier in Germany, a winner of 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 against Hamad Medjedovic Serbian.
Shelton presented the Italian qualified Matteo Gigante 6-3, 6-3, 6-4-hitting 10 AS and winning 37 of the 47 points in the first service (78.7%) along the way.
Of the three clear Americans at 16, Shelton has the most difficult task to come: a fourth round date with the seeded n ° 2 Carlos Alcaraz.
The Spaniard tripped a little in the third set before finishing Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia and Herzegovina 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.
The seeded n ° 8, Lorenzo Musetti, of Italy, dropped a set before exceeding Mariano Navone 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. The seed n ° 10 Holger Rune of Denmark further pushed the limits, creaking before the French Quentin Halys 4-6, 6-2, 5-7, 7-5, 6-2.
– field level media
