DAVIS CUP FINALS

September 15, 2022

Tommy Paul

Team USA

Press Conference

T. PAUL/M. Kukushkin

6-1, 6-4

USA - 1

Kazakhstan - 0

THE MODERATOR: Talk us through that match.

TOMMY PAUL: I felt pretty comfortable, even though the games were close. The first set I felt like I was in full control. He wasn't putting too much pressure on me, so I felt like I could dictate everything in the first set. The second set got tricky.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. How hard was it to back up how you played yesterday? How are you feeling physically?

TOMMY PAUL: Amazing. Not hard at all.

Q. You have a day's grace before you start thinking about the Dutch. Do you have any idea who you might be up against there?

TOMMY PAUL: No. Do you know?

Q. You have two options: Tallon Griekspoor or Tim van Rijthoven.

TOMMY PAUL: I know both of them. I actually lost to Griekspoor this year. Tim, I don't think I've ever played him. I remember him from juniors. We played a lot of the same junior tournaments. Actually met him when we were 14, so we go back a while.

I've seen him play quite a bit. He beat Taylor in 's-Hertogenbosch, and then he beat Reilly in Wimbledon. I've seen him beat two of my friends.

Q. Off the subject of Davis Cup, I hope you've heard the big news today, Roger Federer is calling it a career. I wonder what he meant to you as a player, icon in the sport?

TOMMY PAUL: Yeah, he is an icon. He is like the most-liked tennis player of all time. Really nice guy. Sad to see him go. Kind of wanted to play him before he left. Definitely wanted to get a W over him at some point. That would have been nice to have on the résumé.

I don't know. I'm not sure if he's playing Laver Cup. He said he's playing, so... Maybe if I get put in, I could play him. That would be pretty cool.

But, yeah, it's tough to see him go. He hasn't been on the tour in a while. The level on tour is really high right now. The tour is in good hands, but obviously we're going to miss him.

Q. Did you ever have any interactions with him over the years?

TOMMY PAUL: Yeah, definitely. Practiced with him quite a bit. He, like, rented a house in Indian Wells back in 2016 or something. I went over to his house, practiced at the court there. The chef was, like, cooking us up food. They were living lavish, you know?