Paul races to Queen's trophy

Tommy Paul captured his third ATP Tour title and first on grass Sunday at the cinch Championships, where he overcame Lorenzo Musetti 6-1, 7-6(8) in the final at Queen’s.

The fifth seed played with intensity and aggression throughout the 88-minute clash. After racing ahead, Paul recovered from failing to serve out the match at 5-4 in the second set, and he rallied from 1/4 in the tie-break, saving one set point at 6/7 against Musetti, who was competing in his third tour-level final.

"Hearing about the names [of previous winners] in the locker room, it is unbelievable. It was my goal to put my name next to them," Paul said. "Thank you to my whole team."

King of Queen’s ?@TommyPaul1 outlasts Musetti 6-1 7-6(8).@QueensTennis | #cinchChampionships pic.twitter.com/7BP6feczHD

With his 27th tour-level win of the season, Paul ensured he will surpass Taylor Fritz and become American No. 1 for the first time in his career on Monday. The 27-year-old is set to rise to No. 12 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

Paul has been impressive all week on the lawns in west London, where he dropped just one set. The American clinched his first tour-level title in Stockholm in 2021 before he won this February in Dallas. His Queen’s Club crown is his first at ATP 500 level.

In front of a packed crowd, Paul raced out of the blocks, surging into a 3-0 lead in the pair’s first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting. He did not let up in the first set, clinching it after 32 minutes. The American then recovered from failing to serve out the match at 5-4 in the second set, sealing victory on his second match point when Musetti misfired off the backhand. Paul shared complimentary words for Musetti.

"Watching him play on grass the past two or three years has been really cool. I think everyone kind of thought of him as a clay-court player, and he's kind of proven everyone wrong," said Paul, who converted three of his four break points according to Infosys ATP Stats. "He's obviously a force on the grass courts and is comfortable on it and plays very, very well on it. It was really cool to finally play each other, and to play each other in the final of a tournament like this was amazing." 

Paul, who committed just six unforced errors, raised his arms in the air following his triumph and shared a smile with girlfriend Paige Lorenze and the rest of his team. The champion explained during his press conference that he had received a motivational text message from countryman Frances Tiafoe on Saturday evening.

"All the Americans are pretty close. We push each other with results, I would say. I mean, it's definitely a healthy competition between us," Paul said. "Frances texted me last night and he sent the funniest message, actually. He was, like, 'Finish your food', because every time he's playing, he always says, 'Eat', kind of like motivation. He said, 'Finish your food', last night. I took that and kind of ran with it."

[NEWSLETTER FORM]