Preparing to begin his 2024 campaign, Tommy Paul talked about his 2023 season. He lamented that he failed to meet his targets despite bagging a win over Carlos Alcaraz and achieving a career-best rank. The American also outlined his goal for the new season.
Paul will kickstart his 2024 at the Adelaide International to warm up for the Australian Open. He established himself as one of the premier American players with a great run last year. At one point, he almost threatened to surpass Taylor Fritz as the USA No.1.
Despite making great progress last year, Paul was unsatisfied (via an interview with Punto de Break). Ahead of the Adelaide International, he revealed his goal for the previous season was to make it to the later stages of all Majors. However, he did so only twice. He also admitted his frustration with not winning any titles and losing two finals.
“My goal in 2023 was to make the second week in all the Grand Slams, but I only achieved it in two. It was also quite annoying not to win any titles, I made a couple of finals and both lost in the third set, so it was a bit frustrating.”
Paul disclosed his primary motivation for 2024 is to lift a Grand Slam title. He claimed he would pick that over breaking into the top 10 because they are the most prestigious tournaments in the sport.
“Right now what moves me is winning a Grand Slam, I would choose it before reaching the top 10. In the end, these tournaments are the ones we all play in, they are where we want to win and play our best tennis.”
Seeded first, Paul received a bye into the second round of the Adelaide International. He will face the winner of a first-round clash between two qualifiers.
Tommy Paul had many new highs in a memorable 2023 season
Tommy Paul achieved new heights after a 2023 season full of career bests. He began the year ranked World No.32 but finished as No.13. In October, he achieved a career-high World No.12. As mentioned before, the American aimed to make it to the second week of all Grand Slams. His mission got off to the perfect start, as he got to the semi-finals of the 2023 Australian Open, losing only to eventual champion Novak Djokovic. This was his best finish at a Grand Slam.
Keeping up his good form, Paul reached his first ATP 500 final at the Mexican Open in Acapulco. Despite winning the first set, he fell to Alex de Minaur. He also reached the fourth round of the Miami Masters and the Indian Wells Masters. He faltered in the clay stretch but bounced back with a runner-up finish in the Eastbourne International.
At the Canadian Open, Paul earned the biggest win of his career, beating #1 seed Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-final. He again lost to the eventual champion, Jannik Sinner, in the semi-finals, his best result at an ATP 1000 tournament. Driven by his passion to win, Paul will draw inspiration from his great 2023 season and look to go a few steps further in 2024.
