Tommy Paul secured his first ATP Tour title in Stockholm in 2021, and on Sunday, he was crowned champion at the ATP 250 event once more.
The fourth seed, Paul, overcame the third seed, Grigor Dimitrov, with a score of 6-4, 6-3 in the BNP Paribas Nordic Open final, earning his third ATP Tour title of the year. The American impressively did not drop a set throughout the week and claimed the trophy after an hour and 25 minutes.
This victory was pivotal for the 27-year-old’s aspirations for the Nitto ATP Finals. By winning in Stockholm, he climbed to 10th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, surpassing Dimitrov by defeating the Bulgarian in the final match.
Paul is now 495 points behind the eighth-placed Andrey Rublev in the Live Race. He aims to close this gap further next week in Vienna.
His impeccable performance in Stockholm, which included two tie-breaks and sets no closer than 6-4, placed him in this favorable position. He secured five of his eight sets with a margin of 6-3 or more.
Despite winning only 65 percent of his first-serve points against Dimitrov, as per Infosys ATP Stats, it was not detrimental. The two-time Stockholm champion skillfully navigated Dimitrov’s challenging backhand slice and strategically changed directions to dominate the rallies.
Paul executed a decisive inside-out backhand return winner from the deuce court to break at 4-3 in the second set and then held serve effortlessly to win the title. In 2024, he also triumphed in Dallas and at the Queen’s Club.
Paul joins Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, and Matteo Berrettini as the fourth player to win at least three tour-level titles this season. His victory over Dimitrov marked his fourth Top 10 win of the year (4-5).
