Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe become first American men since Andre Agassi to reach French Open quarterfinals

Tommy Paul became the first American man since Andre Agassi in 2003 to reach the quarterfinals of the French Open after a fourth round victory on Sunday. He was joined by countryman Frances Tiafoe a short time later.

Tommy Paul became the first American man since Andre Agassi in 2003 to reach the quarterfinals of the French Open after he beat Alexei Popyrin 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 on Sunday. A short time later, he was joined by countryman Frances Tiafoe, who dispatched Daniel Altmaier 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4) on the clay at Roland Garros. American tennis fans were deprived of a trio of US men in the tournament’s final eight after Ben Shelton was bounced by the No. 2 seed and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz. The 28-year-old Paul got off to a shaky start when his serve was broken in the very first game against the Australian Popyrin, but he recovered well, breaking back instantly before breaking again later in the set to take a 5-3 lead. Popyrin had the perfect chance to get back on track straight away when he went 0-40 up in the next game, only for Paul to win three points in a row, and then take the set at the third time of asking. “You’ve kind of got to tell yourself, you’re still supposed to hold,” Paul said on court after the match. “Even if you’re down 0-40, you can come back and hold your advantage every single one of those points.