Tommy Paul serving for the set... and takes it!

New York Times

2 days ago

Follow live coverage as the fourth round begins at Roland Garros with Americans Tiafoe, Shelton and Anisimova aiming to join Paul in the quarters Getty Images
The fourth round of the 2025 French Open is underway as stars aim for the quarterfinals at Roland Garros in sunny Paris.
Defending champion Iga Świątek (5) is into a decider against Elena Rybakina (12) on Philippe-Chatrier, before top seed Aryna Sabalenka faces U.S. hope Amanda Anisimova (16).
Tommy Paul (12), one of eight Americans to reach the second week, is through, with Ben Shelton (13) vs. Carlos Alcaraz (2) and Frances Tiafoe (15) vs. Daniel Altmaier later. Watch: TNT, truTV (U.S.); TNT (UK); Contact: [e-mail]
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American Tommy Paul (12) leads Alexei Popyrin (25) 5-3 on Suzanne-Lenglen and is serving for the set.
Popyrin went 0-40 up, with three break points, but Paul has saved them all on his way back to deuce.
Four points in a row now as he takes advantage and his first set point...
And what a shot! Paul comes into the net and Popyrin slings a high forehand over him which arcs and dips just in time to land in the far corner. Misjudgment from Paul.
But Popyrin goes long, another set point. Strong play from the Australian, who whacks the loopy second serve back and advances shot by shot up the court with dominant hitting until he can whip away a winner.
Paul, in his white baseball cap, disguises a forehand back to the corner where Popyrin was coming from and his opponent is wrong-footed. Third set point and it's third time lucky!
Popyrin has to stretch for a powerful forehand and can only flip it wide. Paul reacts impassively but sits down for a breather a set up. Getty Images
The Italian pocket rocket counters Svitolina's break with one of her own in the very next game.
She breaks the Ukrainian to 15 and now serves for 5-2 in the first set.
A strong position. Getty Images
It's on serve so far in the two singles matches on court in Paris.
Paul leads Popyrin 2-1, while Paolini is up 3-2 on Svitolina after an early break apiece.
But wait... Getty Images
Two matches are on in the singles.
Namely, Jasmine Paolini (4) against Elina Svitolina (21) in the women's, and American Tommy Paul (12) vs. Alexei Popyrin (25) in the men's. Getty Images
Welcome to the French Open briefing, where The Athletic will explain the stories behind the stories on each day of the tournament.
On day seven, João Fonseca was 'big-boyed', a French wild card achieved a deferred milestone, and the American world No. 1 added to criticism of the tournament's night sessions.
Dive deeper with Charlie Eccleshare , Matt Futterman , and James Hansen below!
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Fantastic to have you with us.
If you're new here, welcome. If you're returning, welcome back.
It's the French Open second week on The Athletic , aaaaand it's live!
A few years ago, it would be hard to imagine Elena Rybakina and Iga Świątek meeting in the Round of 16 at a Grand Slam.
But that's where we are in the fourth round this year at Roland Garros, with Rybakina the 12th seed and Świątek the fifth seed.
This will be their ninth meeting, with the career head-to-head 4-4. Rybakina is 2-0 on clay against Świątek. She is one of the few players who has the serve and the return game to overpower Świątek.
Świątek hasn't lost at Roland Garros since 2021. Will her winning streak continue in Paris or will Rybakina knock out the three-time defending French Open champ?
One of the matches of the day to kick off the fourth round at the French Open is Ben Shelton taking on defending Roland Garros champion Carlos Alcaraz.
Alcaraz is 2-0 against Shelton but both of their meetings came on hard court at the Laver Cup and the Canadian Open.
This will be their first clay court meeting. Shelton won a five-set battle against Lorenzo Sonego in the first round before not dropping a set against Matteo Gigante in the third following a walkover.
Alcaraz has only dropped one set this tournament... in the second round against Fábián Marozsán.
With both players loving to hit highlight-reel shots, it promises to be an entertaining match.
After a sweltering Saturday that got up to 29.4 degrees Celsius (85 F), Sunday's forecast is much more reasonable at Roland Garros.
Per AccuWeather, the forecast is cloudy and 23 degrees Celsius (73.4 F) with no precipitation in sight.
Should be a great day of tennis in Paris.
Below are the men's singles Round of 16 matches: L. Musetti (8) vs. H. Rune (10)
F. Tiafoe (15) vs. D. Altmaier
A. Popyrin (25) vs. T. Paul (12)
B. Shelton (13) vs. C. Alcaraz (2)
Monday, June 2 J. Sinner (1) vs. A. Rublev (17)
A. Bublik vs. J. Draper (5)
A. Zverev (3) vs. T. Griekspoor
C. Norrie vs. N. Djokovic (6)
Below are the women's Round of 16 matches: A. Sabalenka (1). vs. A. Anisimova (16)
L. Samsonova (19) vs. Q. Zheng (8)
J. Paolini (4) vs. E. Svitolina (13)
E. Rybakina (12) vs. I. Świątek (5)
Monday, June 2 M. Andreeva (6) vs. D. Kasatkina (17)
L. Boisson vs. J. Pegula (3)
M. Keys (7) vs. H. Baptiste
E. Alexandrova (20) vs. C. Gauff (2) Getty Images
It'll be a pretty manic one on Sunday, plenty of big names in action, of course, with some U.S. names in there too — so when do they all get started?
Court Philippe-Chatrier J. Paolini (4) vs. E. Svitolina (13) (11 a.m. local time; 5 a.m. ET)
E. Rybakina (12) vs. I. Świątek (5)
B. Shelton (13) vs. C. Alcaraz (2)
L. Musetti vs. H. Rune (not before 8:15 p.m. local time; 2:15 p.m. ET)
Court Suzanne-Lenglen A. Popyrin (25) vs. T. Paul (12) (11 a.m. local time; 5 a.m. ET)
L. Samsonova (19) vs. Z. Qinwen (8)
A. Sabalenka (2) vs. A. Anisimova (16)
F. Tiafoe (15) vs. D. Altmaier
It was an exciting final day of third-round action to conclude the first week of the 2025 French Open.
Coco Gauff (2) advanced in straight sets. Madison Keys and Jessica Pegula won their respective matches in three sets after dropping the opener.
In the night match, Novak Djokovic won his 99th match at Roland Garros in straight sets to advance to a 16th consecutive second week.
Want a refresher on all of Saturday's matches? Check out our live coverage here. Getty Images
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Stade Roland Garros, Paris, France
The stadium complex is in the 16th arrondissement (district) of the French capital city.
Court Philippe-Chatrier, Suzanne-Lenglen, and Simonne-Mathieu are the show courts here.
It's the only clay-court major and it's a classic staple on the tennis calendar.
We'll be bringing you live updates and analysis throughout today's action (and plenty in the build-up, too) but if you want to watch the Roland Garros on TV as well, here's all the information you need: U.S.: TNT, truTV, Max
TNT, truTV, Max UK: TNT Sports, Discovery+
TNT Sports, Discovery+ Canada: TSN
TSN Australia: Stan Sports
Stan Sports France: France.tv Sport, Amazon Prime
Play begins at 11 a.m. local time in Paris. That is 10 a.m. in the UK, 5 a.m. ET on the east coast of the United States and 2 a.m. on the west coast.
Hello tennis fans! Welcome to The Athletic 's live coverage of the 2025 French Open from Roland Garros.
The first week is over and it's time for the business end of the tournament to begin. Today, the fourth round starts with the likes of Frances Tiafoe, Iga Świątek, Carlos Alcaraz, and Ben Shelton in action.
It promises to be a fun day of tennis ahead.
Follow our live coverage for all of day eight's matches.