Tommy Paul watched entire Carlos Alcaraz-Jannik Sinner Roland Garros final on his phone

Tommy Paul has been known to enjoy a classic match from years past, but the American got to see one play out in real time when he spent a Sunday watching Carlos Alcaraz beat Jannik Sinner for the Roland Garros title—all from the comfort of his phone.

“I do love watching tennis while I’m in the tournament,” Paul told Steve Weissman and Jon Wertheim in his visit to the Tennis Channel Live Desk following a first-round Wimbledon win over Johannus Monday. “When I’m out of the tournament, I don’t usually watch a lot. But I didn’t miss that one. I was at my girlfriend’s Polo event and watching on my phone. It was an unbelievable match.

“I started watching it when I woke up and then five hours later I was still on my phone watching it.”

Paul had played Alcaraz in the quarterfinals and, hindered by injury, managed just four games against the eventual champion. Asked about the state of the ATP field the American admitted that, even at his best, Alcaraz and Sinner are currently the toughest outs in tennis.

“I think right now those guys are a level above everyone else,” said Paul, Wimbledon’s No. 13 seed. “People have a lot of catching up to do. These guys are dominating when it comes to the Slams. These are the tournaments everyone wants to do the best in, and they’re three out of five set matches. In best three out of five, I feel like the better player comes out on top most of the time, and they seem to be coming out on top every time. It shows that the people right below them really have to gain a level to be competing with them in these events.

“Last year here against Carlos, I feel like I picked my level up in the opening set and at some point you feel like Carlos took it to another level and I couldn’t stay there with him. He played so fast. It kind of feels like he’s got constant pressure on you the entire time and you can’t hit one ball that’s without a ton of quality or he’s on top of you, attacking the net. Same with Sinner. Sinner absolutely pounds the ball. If you don’t play deep in the court and hit the ball hard, he’s on offense and you definitely don’t want to be on defense with those guys.”

Paul is a combined 3-9 against Alcaraz and Sinner, though one of his wins against the latter came on grass back in 2022. Making only his fourth main-draw appearance at the All England Club, the 28-year-old aims to better his quarterfinal finish from last season despite landing in the same section as Sinner.

“For tennis, this is the mecca,” said Paul, who This is where you want to play, where you dream about playing when you’re young.”

Hoping to build towards a classic of his own, Paul will next play Austria’s Sebastian Ofner in the second round.