Tommy Paul wins Queen's Club, becomes No. 1 American man

Tommy Paul won the biggest ATP Tour title of his career Sunday at London's Queen's Club, where he edged Sebastian Korda in an all-American semifinal before beating Lorenzo Musetti in the championship match. Paul's third tour-level singles title also earned him the honor of becoming the No. 1 American man, moving him ahead of Taylor Fritz to world No. 12, matching his career-high ATP ranking.

Paul dropped just one set to win his first grass-court title—against Stuttgart champ Jack Draper in the quarters—before beating Korda, 6-4, 7-6(2), and Musetti, 6-1, 7-6(8).

"Not only is it my biggest title so far, it's one of the coolest tournaments in the world, has some of the most history of any tournament," Paul said after winning an event that counts Americans John McEnroe, Pete Sampras and Andy Roddick among its former champions. "It's definitely an amazing one to win, and I'm proud of it and I'm very, very happy about it."

In Sunday's final, Paul cruised through the opening set after taking a 3-0 lead, then recovered after failing to serve out the match at 5-4. He trailed 1-4 in the second-set tiebreak and saved a set point at 6-7 before finishing the job in straight sets.

Paul is now a three-time ATP Tour singles champ, with the London ATP 500 title added to his ATP 250 triumphs in Stockholm (2021) and Dallas (2024). He also reached the Delray Beach final this February immediately after his Dallas run, winning seven consecutive matches across the two events on home soil.

Another American, world No. 30 Frances Tiafoe, provided Paul with some comedic relief and inspiration ahead of the final.

"All the Americans are pretty close," Paul explained. "We push each other with results, I would say. It's definitely a healthy competition between us.

"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."

The next meal for Paul will come at Wimbledon, where he is set to be one of five seeded American men alongside Fritz, Ben Shelton, Korda and Tiafoe. Play begins on July 1 at the grass-court Grand Slam.