In the second round of the US Open on Thursday, American Tommy Paul was in fine form, but he didn’t need to rely on his skills to finish the match. After two intense sets against Australia’s Max Purcell, Paul advanced to the third round at Flushing Meadows when his opponent abruptly retired after just one game in the third set.
The 14th seed clinched a hard-fought first set 7-5, followed by a dominant 6-0 victory in the second set. With just one game under his belt in the third set, Paul moved on after Purcell retired from the match, having lost ten consecutive games. Interestingly, Purcell did not call for a medical trainer or physiotherapist before retiring.
Paul will face qualifier Gabriel Diallo in the third round on Saturday. The Canadian delivered a stunning performance by defeating French 24th seed Arthur Fils with a scoreline of 7-5, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4.
Reflecting on the match, Paul said, “I played very well, but it’s unfortunate.” He added, “I think my serve was great in the second set, and my forehand was really clicking.”
While this isn’t the way Paul wants to progress, the early finish will give him some much-needed rest. His first-round match against Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego had ended past 1 AM on Tuesday, requiring him to recover quickly for his Thursday clash with Purcell.
Paul had battled through a challenging match against Sonego in the Louis Armstrong Stadium on Tuesday, holding off the Italian’s late-night charge to advance. He won the match 6-4, 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 after four hard-fought sets.
Leading American hopes alongside Taylor Fritz, Paul recently won a bronze medal with Fritz at the Paris Olympics earlier this month.
On the women’s side, Jessica Pegula advanced to the third round as well after overcoming a tough challenge from fellow American Sofia Kenin on Thursday. However, rising American star Sebastian Korda was dealt a swift defeat, losing 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 to Czech player Tomas Machac in just over two hours.
