Tommy Paul has been impressed by what he has seen from one young American player in particular.
Paul suffered an injury at Wimbledon last year, which meant that he could only play five more matches in the 2025 season.
Despite the setbacks he faced last year, Paul could be a dark horse for the Australian Open as a former semifinalist.
Paul has made an impressive start to his campaign after beating his compatriot Aleksandar Kovacevic, but there is actually another American player who has caught his eye.
Tommy Paul praises Michael Zheng after his first win at the Australian Open
Paul beat Kovacevic, 6-4 6-3 6-3, and he is now one of six American men’s singles players who are already in the second round.
This includes 21-year-old Michael Zheng, who won his first ever Grand Slam main draw match after beating another American Sebastian Korda in the first round.
When asked about Zheng in his post-match press conference, Paul revealed that he had caught his attention last year and had been impressed by his progress.
“Yeah, it’s amazing,” said Paul. “I didn’t really know too much about him until later in the year last year, which is kind of weird, because when I’m not playing, I’m not watching too much tennis, but his name kept coming up, so I wanted to know a little bit more about him.
“I mean, he’s an impressive kid. He plays great tennis. I’m excited to see where his career goes here in the next couple of months even.”
Zheng is in the same quarter as Paul and will play 32nd seed Corentin Moutet in his second round match.
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Tommy Paul says what he thinks about the current state of American men’s tennis
Paul and Zheng are far from the only American players at the Australian Open this year, with a total of 21 men representing the USA in the main draw.
As he continued to be asked about American tennis, Paul revealed his hope for American tennis to have a player who dominates the game.
“Yeah, it’s amazing,” Paul said about American tennis. “We talk about it with my coach all the time. I mean, the way that tennis used to be back in the ’80s and ’90s, it was pretty dominated by American tennis. Not just at the top of the game, but in numbers in the top 100.
“We’re trying to get back to the numbers in the top 100, and hopefully at some point we can get somebody that dominates the game, that would be the most ideal for us.
“I mean, it’s exciting. We have an awesome group, especially the younger guys coming up still. I love watching and cheering for American tennis, so it’s awesome for me.”
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There have now been 23 years since an American man won a Grand Slam singles title, while two American women won major titles last year.
Paul will be hoping to end this drought for his nation at the Australian Open this year, with Thiago Agustin Tirante awaiting him in the second round.
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