Tommy Paul believes he wouldn’t be where he is now without the help of his coach after ending America’s 22-year wait for a French Open quarter-finalist in the men’s draw.
The 12th seed defeated Alexi Popyrin 6-3, 6-3, 6-3, to move into the last eight of a Grand Slam for the third time in his career but the first time he has done so in Paris. Paul has experienced a tough run in this year’s tournament after being taken to five sets in his two previous matches against Marton Fucsovics and Karen Khachanov. He also dropped a set in the first round against Elmer Moller.
In charge of overseeing Paul’s progression on the Tour is Brad Stein who has been his mentor since 2020. Stein is an experienced coach who previously mentored Jim Courier during the 1990s when he reached No.1 in the world. He has also worked with Kevin Anderson, Andrei Medvedev, Mardy Fish and Sebastian Grosjean.
“Brad has been the most important piece in my game. Like for me to be where I’m at today,
he was the one who really pushed me to get there,” Paul said during his press conference.
“I can’t say enough nice things about him as a guy or as a coach.
“He just has a really good tennis IQ. He sees stuff that I don’t even feel when I’m on court, and we take that to the practice court. I trust him wholeheartedly on everything that he sees when I play.
“We’ll have arguments every now and then, but for the most part, I mean, he’s spot on.”
Speaking about their work together, Paul says a lot of focus has been on his net play in recent months. Against Popyrin, he won 16 out of 20 points played at the net in his latest match.
“The key thing is always getting to the net more, playing more aggressively,” he explained.
“Obviously on clay it’s a little tougher just because of your court position, you’re so much farther back.
“Every clay court season we’ve been adjusting and figuring out where is the best position for me to start points and play points. I’m stepping way farther back on the court and extending points and kind of using my off-court work more on the clay and using my body and using my legs.”
According to OptaAce, Paul is the second-oldest American man to reach their first French Open quarterfinal at the age of 28.
