Tommy Paul won his career-best 42nd singles match on tour this season, as the fourth seed defeated Laslo Djere 6-2, 7-6 (2) on Wednesday at the BNP Paribas Nordic Open in Stockholm. Paul, who won this event in 2021, recorded seven aces and 27 winners. He forced Serbia’s Djere to save nine of 12 break points as the American advanced to the quarterfinals in 88 minutes.
This marks the second time this year that Paul has reached a semifinal or better at an ATP 500 tournament. He also made it to the quarters in Delray Beach earlier this month. He will next play seventh seed Tallon Griekspoor, who upset top seed Cam Norrie in straight sets.
When new results are released on Thursday, Paul will rise to No. 12 in the rankings, passing fellow American Taylor Fritz. The Florida native is a two-time runner-up at the US Open, losing to Fritz in the 2015 boys’ final and beating him in three sets in the 2016 boys’ semis.
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In his singles win over Djere, Paul never trailed as he won eight of the 12 games in the first set and broke serve twice. He cruised to a 4-1 lead in the second before Djere rallied to tie it at 5-4. The American could hold on in the ensuing tiebreaker, winning three minibreaks to secure victory.
After a slow season start, Paul has won four of his last five matches and is on the cusp of a Top 25 return. He is one of a handful of players who have won at least 40 ATP Tour matches this season, along with Dominic Thiebaut, Frances Tiafoe, and Tommy Haas.
While the 24-year-old has been a consistent performer, he has yet to win an ATP title. That could change next week at Wimbledon, where he will face a field that includes fifth seed and former world No. 1 Andy Murray, eighth seed Frances Tiafoe, and third seed Denis Shapovalov.
Paul has played in three Grand Slams, making it through the second round at the Australian and French Open. He has also enjoyed success at smaller events, including a pair of runs to the Delray Beach and Acapulco semifinals. Paul, born in Miami, has won over $7 million in his career to date. He reached a career-high ranking of No. 12 in October 2023 and achieved the mark again on June 24 this year. He is the defending champion of the Dallas Open and reached the final in that competition in 2024 against a different opponent. He also won the 2015 Roland Garros boys’ singles title and has two other junior Grand Slam titles.