Tommy Paul achieved a career milestone at the Rolex Paris Masters by defeating world no. 2 Rafael Nadal. After dropping the first set, Paul fought back to overcome the 22-time major winner, avenging a prior loss in Acapulco. For Nadal, it was a shaky return to form; having been away from the game for two months since the U.S. Open, he struggled to maintain his lead. Following a hard-fought match that spanned over two and a half hours, the American emerged victorious with a 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-1 win.
Tommy Paul earned the biggest win of his career by defeating the world no.2 Rafael Nadal at the Rolex Paris Masters. Paul pulled off the win, rallying from a set down to upset the Spaniard, avenging an Acapulco defeat to the 22-time major champion. Nadal made a losing return to competition as he crashed out of the Paris Masters in his opening match. The Spaniard had not played since exiting the U.S. Open two months ago and lost to the American 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-1 after giving a tough fight for two hours and 32 minutes.
This early departure from the Paris Masters has stripped Nadal of his chance to end the season at the top of the rankings. At 36, the Spaniard failed to make it to the quarterfinals for the first time in the tournament's history. Although he put up a strong fight in the early stages of the match, he couldn't sustain that level of play until the end.
The match opened with a scare for Nadal, who nearly lost his serve after leading 40-0, though he eventually held. Paul managed to break early to go up 2-1, but Nadal quickly recovered, breaking back and winning three straight games to close out the first set 6-3.
Nadal maintained his momentum entering the second set, securing an early break in the third game. However, Paul, ranked 31st in the world, immediately responded with a break at love to bring the score to 2-2. Nadal then had to fight off two break points while trailing 2-3. Later, with Nadal serving at 4-5, Paul had a chance to take the set but committed several unforced errors—hitting two balls into the net and one wide—allowing the Spaniard to hold on.
The second set pushed into a tiebreak, where the 25-year-old Paul jumped ahead following a double fault from Nadal. Utilizing an aggressive baseline strategy, Paul created three more opportunities to break and eventually converted his third set point to force a deciding third set.
Nadal's serve faltered early in the final set, giving Paul an immediate advantage. Although Paul faced a break point of his own, he survived thanks to a narrowly missed shot from Nadal, holding serve to lead 3-1. From that point forward, the American controlled the tempo of the match, eventually sealing the victory with his fifth break of the game.
After securing his first-ever win against one of the 'Big Three,' Paul described the victory as the pinnacle of his career, noting that his aggressive playstyle was particularly effective during the final set.