Tommy Paul clinched his first-ever grass-court title with his victory over Lorenzo Musetti at Queen’s.
The win represents the American’s third ATP Tour success, with Paul overcoming the Italian 6-1, 7-6(8) in London.
The fifth seed emerged victorious after 88 minutes, securing his 27th tour-level win in an impressive season so far.
Moreover, Paul now surpasses Taylor Fritz to become American number one for the first time in his career.
He will also rise to 12th spot in the ATP world rankings, having dropped just one set throughout his Queen’s venture.
Tommy Paul shares Lorenzo Musetti verdict after beating him at Queen’s
But also enjoying a strong tournament was runner-up Musetti, who like Paul is also in fine form on the court in 2024.
The Italian has two titles to his name, winning on the hard court in Napoli and the clay in Hamburg, with both victories coming in 2022.
As per the official ATP Tour website, Musetti has now drawn huge praise from Paul, with the American saying: “Watching him play on grass the past two or three years has been really cool.
“I think everyone kind of thought of him as a clay-court player, and he’s kind of proven everyone wrong. He’s obviously a force on the grass courts and is comfortable on it and plays very, very well on it.
“It was really cool to finally play each other, and to play each other in the final of a tournament like this was amazing.”
Can Tommy Paul and Lorenzo Musetti shine at Wimbledon?
Musetti began the tournament in fantastic fashion, picking up a statement win against number two seed Alex de Minaur.
The Australian was one of the in-form players heading into Queen’s, having just lifted the Libema Open trophy in the Netherlands.
But he suffered a shock first-round loss to Musetti, with the Italian also beating Brandon Nakashima, Billy Harris and Jordan Thompson on his way to the final.
His grass-court game is looking very strong indeed, with his form on the surface coming at a good time as Wimbledon approaches.
Paul meanwhile overcame the likes of Sebastian Korda and Jack Draper on his way to the trophy, explaining that the latter’s serve is ‘not fun to deal with’ after their quarter-final clash.
The American next takes to the court at Eastbourne as his Wimbledon preparation continues, with the third Grand Slam of the year getting underway at the beginning of next month.
Paul will be full of confidence going into the major tournament, with tennis legend Andy Roddick believing people have been overlooking just how good he really is.
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