Tommy Paul becomes first American man to reach French Open quarterfinal since Andre Agassi in 2003

An American man advanced to the quarterfinals of the French Open for the first time since 2003. Tommy Paul defeated Alexei Popyrin 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 in the fourth round Sunday to become the first American man to pull off that feat since Andre Agassi.

Prior to his win over Popyrin, Paul had to battle for his spot in the fourth round. Karen Khachanov and Marton Fucsovics pushed Paul to five sets in the third and fourth rounds, respectively. Despite those challenges, Paul cruised against Popyrin to make some history.

Paul hit one clutch shot after another to put away Popyrin in straight sets. His best shot of the day may have come when he ripped an excellent backhand right down the line in the first set.

In that 2003 French Open quarterfinal, Agassi fell to Argentinian Guillermo Coria. Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain would go on to win the title.

The 28-year-old Paul had never advanced past the third round of the French Open until this year, and now he’s one of the last eight players left at Roland-Garros. According to the Associated Press, Paul is now the only active American tennis player to reach the final eight on three different surfaces at Grand Slam events.

Paul takes on the winner of Ben Shelton and Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals. That match is slated for Tuesday, so Paul has some time to recover from his dominant performance in the fourth round.