Vintage John McEnroe photo from Davis Cup piques Tommy Paul's interest
Tommy Paul shared his thoughts on a vintage Sports Illustrated magazine cover featuring John McEnroe at the Davis Cup.
Tommy Paul recently made history as the first American man to make the semi-finals of the Australian Open since Andy Roddick in 2009. He defeated fellow American Ben Shelton in the quarterfinals for the chance to face off against Novak Djokovic in the next round. Despite losing the semifinal in straight sets to the eventual winner, the American had a very impressive run at the Major and rose to a career-high ranking of World No. 19 at the end of the tournament.
The 25-year old is currently taking part in the ongoing Davis Cup Qualifiers, where Team USA faced off against Uzbekistan away from home -- incidentally, the same tournament that was featured on the Sports Illustrated cover in question.
The photo was shared by a fan account on Instagram specializing in vintage photographs of tennis stars. The 1978 magazine cover depicts John McEnroe at the Davis Cup leading the way for the American contingent.
"John McEnroe stars for the U.S.," reads the Sports Illustrated cover.
Tommy Paul shared the post on his Instagram story, calling the cover "iconic."
"Iconic," Paul wrote.
Tommy Paul and team USA strike gold at the Davis Cup Qualifiers
Team USA booked their spot in the group stage of the Davis Cup Finals with a convincing 4-0 victory over Uzbekistan in the qualifying round of the tournament.
QUALIFIED 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Team USA are into the Davis Cup Finals Group Stage. @AustinKrajicek & @RajeevRam lock in their spot with a 6-2 6-4 win against Fayziev/Fomin.
#DavisCup | @usta https://t.co/nJUIG2R5NK
Despite the unavailability of stars like Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe, team USA has swept their opponents with ease. The round started with Mackenzie McDonald defeating Sergey Fomin 6-4, 6-1. Paul then consolidated the team's lead by beating Khumoyun Sultanov 6-1, 7-6(6).
Their flawless run was capped by doubles team Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram winning the doubles match 6-2, 6-4. Denis Kudla then beat Amir Milushev 6-4, 6-4. Paul shared a wholesome photo of Team USA being all smiles after their victory on his Instagram account.
With their victory, Team USA have booked their spot in the group stage consisting of 16 teams. The teams will face off against each other in September. Eight teams will advance to the knockouts, which are scheduled to be held from November 21-26.
The World No. 19 will be in action next as the second seed at the Delray beach Open held in Florida from Feburary 13. Paul has enjoyed prior success at the tournament as he made the semifinals of the event in 2022. He will be looking to better his results from last year and take home the trophy this time around.