Saying goodbye to juniors, Paul hopes to follow in his idol’s footsteps

NEW YORK—You could say that having two veteran Italians in this year’s women’s U.S. Open final was an aberration. You could also say that having two junior Americans in this year’s boys’ U.S. Open final was a sign of things to come.

There’s an impressive crop of American teenagers on the rise, and amidst the hurricane-forced swirls of hype is a very calm 18-year-old, Tommy Paul.

Paul, who finished runner-up to fellow American Taylor Fritz at Flushing Meadows—after beating him to win the French Open earlier this year—jumped 92 spots to No. 345 in the ATP rankings, good for third highest among U.S. teens (behind No. 253 Frances Tiafoe and No. 142 Jared Donaldson). It was only his fourth junior tournament of the year, having turned professional this summer after a bout of success on the ITF Pro Circuit.

“It was always a goal for me to turn pro,” says Paul, who won two Futures tournaments this summer in Europe. “I committed to [the University of] Georgia so I really thought I was going to go to school. Right before the French Open I went to some Futures [events] and did pretty well there.

“After the French Open I was like, I’m going to do it.”

Paul has had a taste of the big stage already: This past U.S. Open was his also pro debut at a Grand Slam, thanks to a wild card into the qualifying tournament. He won three rounds to make the main draw, where he lost to No. 25-ranked Andreas Seppi, 6-4, 6-0, 7-5.

“I think it was great to go through qualies, really fun,” Paul says. “I played on Court 17 every match, and a great atmosphere every match. I came out [against Seppi] and I was hitting really hard and staying on top of the baseline. Obviously, I can’t keep that up for the whole match.”

Between the singles and doubles tournaments in both the men’s and junior tournaments, Paul played 12 matches at Flushing Meadows. His final one, a 6-2, 6-7 (4), 6-2 loss to Fritz, came on the final day of the event. Paul was nearly ousted in the second round to fast-rising Canadian Felix Augur Aliassime, but prevailed in three close sets. He saved some of his best tennis for the end, winning his semifinal over Alex De Minaur in a 6-0, 6-0 annihilation.

Fritz’s win in the final was revenge for his loss to Paul at Roland Garros—it was the first all-American junior Grand Slam final ever. The repeat history-making feat is just another omen of a new wave of U.S. youngsters getting set for prime time. With Reilly Opelka’s title at Wimbledon, American boys won three of the four junior Grand Slam titles for the first time since 1977.

“We all practice together, so it’s good and competitive,” Paul says about the crop of talented compatriots. “There are a lot of us in Boca [Raton, Fl.] … we’re all pretty relaxed and laid back, so I don’t think we’ll ever have beef with each other or not like each other. We’re all close.”

The night before playing each other in the French Open final, Paul and Fritz had dinner together. (Does that count as beef?)

Growing up in Greenville, N.C., Paul picked up the game from his mother before moving to Boca Raton at 14 to train with the USTA. But his mom wasn’t his only tennis influence. When Paul was 6, his idol Andy Roddick won the U.S. Open.

“Someone at the place that I played at brought a whole bunch of his Reebok clothes and I thought I want all of it,” says Paul, who was taken by Roddick’s trucker hat and bold outfit. “I wanted to dress just like him.”

Paul got to meet and hit with Roddick at Wimbledon this year. And with his final junior tournament in the books, Paul will try to emulate Roddick in another way, on tour, as one of the top young American hopes.