"I messaged him this morning" - Frances Tiafoe lauds 'braveheart' Tommy Paul after incredible escape act in Shanghai Masters 3R saving 5 match points
Frances Tiafoe has hailed Tommy Paul after the latter fought back against all odds to win his third-round match 6-7(2), 7-6(6), 6-2 at the ongoing 2024 Shanghai Masters on Sunday (October 6). Paul's hopes of progressing to the Round of 16 looked done and dusted when Alejandro Tabilo had engineered multiple match points. However, remarkably, Paul saved them all and went on to turn the match on its head.
The American, the No. 11 seed at the ATP Masters 1000 event, was the favorite on paper against the Chilean, who was the No. 19 seed. The two had previously faced each other just once on the ATP tour, and Paul had wrapped up that particular meeting in straight sets.
However, their Shanghai showdown looked destined to go in Tabilo's favor. The Chilean won the tight first set 7-6(2) and raced to a 5-2 lead in the second, setting up five match points. Inexplicably though, Paul stayed resolute and simply refused to give in. Ultimately, it was the American who leveled things up by winning the second set 7-6(6). He then produced a dominant third-set display to win it 6-2 and seal his spot in the fourth round.
After Frances Tiafoe's own comfortable 6-2, 6-4, second-round win over home hope Zhou Yi on Monday, the two-time US Open semifinalist was asked if he saw his compatriot's staggering comeback win. Tiafoe called Paul a "braveheart" and admitted that he thought that his compatriot was on his way out of the 2024 Rolex Shanghai Masters when Tabilo had five match points at 5-2 in the second set.
"Braveheart. I messaged him this morning, Braveheart, man. I seen, I was watching, he lost the first, he wasn't playing that great, a little flat. Then I saw he got broken early in the second, and kind of turned it off, so I watched some Netflix. Looked again at the scores, now he's 5-2, I thought, Well, he's done. Go to sleep," Frances Tiafoe said at a press conference.
The former World No. 10 went on to recall how he woke up to find out that Paul had somehow managed to dig himself out of the hole he found himself in.
"Wake up, like, I doze off, wake up, it's 6-All in the breaker, so turn it on. On my phone I got the eSIM now, so I feel like I'm back in America. I turn it on, 6-All, wins the breaker. And I didn't know he was down five match points until today when he told me. Incredible effort. Those wins go a long way, and hopefully he uses that to carry on. I don't know who he plays next, but that was big last night," Tiafoe added.
Up next for Tommy Paul is either No. 30 seed Tomas Machac or qualifier Aleksandar Vukic in the fourth round. Meanwhile, Frances Tiafoe is slated to face Roman Safiullin in the third round.
"I think Roman Safiullin is a super dark horse" - Frances Tiafoe on Russian ahead of Rolex Shanghai Masters 2024 3R clash
During the same press conference, Frances Tiafoe was quizzed about his third-round opponent in Shanghai, the talented Russian Roman Safiullin. Tiafoe gave Safiullin the "super dark horse" tag, suggesting that the Russian has the game to cause several upsets.
"I think he's a super dark horse. I mean, he can beat a lot of guys. Quarters at Wimbledon. He's a good player. Obviously he's had an up-and-down season, but he's capable, he's very, very capable. Really good junior. He's got a good game, good serve, moves well. I think last year he beat Zverev. He's capable, so he's going to be tough," Frances Tiafoe said.
The upcoming third-round clash between Tiafoe and Safiullin will mark the pair's maiden ATP tour-level clash. If the American wins, he will face either Flavio Cobolli or Novak Djokovic in the fourth round.