AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 23, 2023

Tommy Paul

Press Conference

T. PAUL/R. Bautista Agut

6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations, Tommy. First time into the last eight of a Grand Slam. How does that feel for you now?

TOMMY PAUL: Pretty great. I just learned that I get an extra badge when I come back here next year, so I'm pretty stoked about that (smiling).

No, in all seriousness, I'm really excited, man. It's like every person's dream when they start playing tennis to play the big matches at the slams. I'm really excited to get out there on Wednesday. We know there's going to be an American in the semis, so I'm really excited about that, too.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You said it was your dream to play in the biggest matches in the biggest tournaments, big stadiums, all those things. At the same time, as you hit this milestone of reaching a quarterfinal, you don't want to just probably have it for what it is and be a quarterfinal, you want to go further. How do you get yourself into the mindset of not being satisfied with that, this is not about enjoying the moment, it's about going really far?

TOMMY PAUL: I mean, pretty easily. I'm playing in the quarterfinals in two days. Like, I'm not satisfied. I mean, I'm going to go out there and try and win the match. Semifinal sounds a lot better than quarterfinal every day of the week.

Yeah, I'm excited. I'm not satisfied yet.

Q. Is there something you would point to for allowing you to make this step at this time, something in your game, in your mindset, your preparation? Is there anything that you felt that this is going to be your time?

TOMMY PAUL: I don't know. I've just been paying attention to the details a little bit more in practice, like on and off court. I mean, got a good team around me. I got new management, so everything has been pretty good since switching to them (smiling). That's been exciting.

And, yeah, I mean, I've just been having a lot of fun out there. Every match has been fun. It's hard to play bad when you're having fun.

Q. Looking ahead for a moment to playing Ben, he said maybe you guys had practiced once with each other.

TOMMY PAUL: Yeah, we warmed up in Cincinnati one time.

Q. Do you know him much at all? What do you know about his game?

TOMMY PAUL: I would say I know him better as a person than as a player, like, just because I've spent a decent amount of time with him in the locker room. I know his dad from when his dad was at the USTA when I was younger.

I actually haven't seen him play very much. This will probably be the first time that I'll have to watch some film on my opponent in this whole tournament so far. I'll probably watch his match with J.J. tomorrow and talk to my coach. I think my coach has watched him play a few times.

We'll have to get a game plan going.

Q. Your rise through the challengers, up the rankings, has always been steady and gradual. Along the way, a long journey, did you ever doubt that you'd be able to play in these types of matches, or did you always believe you'd be here?

TOMMY PAUL: I mean, there's times at like 19 or something where you doubt it a little bit. But, I mean, I knew that I play really well against good players. I know that, like, I can get hot for a while and play really good.

But I think it's more about being consistent throughout the year. That's my goal. I mean, not just throughout the year but throughout a whole match, like staying kind of level throughout the whole match and throughout the whole year. That's kind of the goal this year.

To answer your question, not really. Kind of always believed. As an athlete, I think you have to kind of be delusional in a way. Maybe some people would have called me delusional a couple years ago, but I'm pretty excited to be here now.

Q. Acknowledging that you're not done yet, I'm wondering if anything about your performance over the last 10 days has either surprised you or if you feel like you've learned something about yourself? Do you feel you're getting new information as a player or person?

TOMMY PAUL: I wouldn't say I'm too surprised. I wouldn't say like I learned too much about myself on court. I've been playing how I've been practicing. That's, like, the main thing. I've been practicing hard and been very focused in practice.

To play throughout three-out-of-five-set matches and be locked in the whole time, that's something maybe I didn't know if I could do very well.

Going back the past three or four Grand Slams I played, I feel like I've performed pretty well in the slams. It's not hard to wake up for these matches, you know?

Q. There's been this recent surge by young American men. Do you think there's a connection there? It's an individual sport, but is there a group mentality? Do you feed off each other?

TOMMY PAUL: Absolutely. I think we see people that we've played our whole lives, kind of felt like we've been around the same level as them our whole lives, and we see them doing big things in big tournaments. We're like, Okay, I can do that.

At the same time I think we push each over, not just from results-wise, but when we're talking to each other, we help each other, we push each other, we want each other to do well.

I mean, yeah, it's a good group coming up. Obviously like I want to be the best one in the group. Fritz wants to be the best one in the group. Frances wants to be the best one in the group. Everyone wants to be the best. That's what makes it good. I mean, we're all competitive.

Q. Have you had a lot of contact within the last couple days?

TOMMY PAUL: Yeah, I mean, Reilly actually has been giving me all of my scouting reports. He's basically been my coach this week. Taylor has been sending me, like, some stupid-ass memes on Instagram. That's about it. He asked me if I was coming to L.A. after this tournament.

No, I'm supposed to go to Uzbekistan for Davis Cup, so I'm not going there. Big Foe has been shooting me some messages. Everyone is pretty supportive, you know.

Q. In September you were at the Laver Cup and for Federer's retirement, first win by Team World. Was that group energy also in some way galvanizing?

TOMMY PAUL: Yeah, the event was awesome. But for me, I just sat on the bench for a long time. It wasn't amazing watching. It was amazing being in the presence of Roger during his retirement and everything, but I hate sitting on the bench. It was kind of a hard time for me.

I was excited to play my own tournaments after that.

Q. Did it make you hungry?

TOMMY PAUL: Yeah.