Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul have been great friends for a long time. The American players had to face off in the Stockholm semi-final on Friday. Eventually, it was Tommy Paul to win the encounter in more than 2 hours and 30 minutes.
There was a funny episode in the second-set tiebreak after Paul hit a fantastic volley at the net. Frances couldn’t resist jokingly showing the middle finger to his friend.
Frances Tiafoe in 2021
Ranked world no.41, Frances played his last match on the 12th of November when he capitulated to world no.52 Tommy Paul 5-7 7-6(5) 6-4 in the semifinal in Stockholm (draw).
Currently, during this season Tiafoe has achieved an overall 41-27 record. This year, Frances clinched 1 title in the Nottingham 1 Challenger. Frances reached the final in Vienna.
Paul in Stockholm, ranking, and results in 2021
Now ranked no.52, the American has a 32-23 match record in 2021. The American is playing at the moment in Stockholm where he managed to beat Leo Borg 6-4 6-2
, Taylor Harry Fritz 6-4 6-4, Andy Murray 6-2 3-6 6-3 and Frances Tiafoe 5-7 7-65 6-4.Tommy Paul will fight against the world no.18 Denis Shapovalov in the final. In the past, they have never played each other as of now in top competitions.
Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul fought against each other 4 times. Their current head to head is 3-1 for Tiafoe. Previously, the last time they squared off, Tommy Paul won 5-7 7-6(5) 6-4 in the semifinal in Stockholm (Stockholm Open) on the 12th of November 2021.
You can see them in action in the following highlights.