Tommy Paul produced one of the upsets of the season on Wednesday, saving a match point to eliminate top seed Alexander Zverev 4-6, 7-6(8/6), 6-4 and reach his first Cincinnati Open quarter-final.
The American, who hadn't beaten a top-three player at the tournament since 2013, came through a rain-delayed battle that was interrupted for nearly 90 minutes during the second set. After losing the opener, Paul found himself facing elimination at 6-5 down in the second-set tiebreak, only for Zverev to dump a volley into the net and hand him a lifeline.
From there, the momentum shifted decisively. Despite Zverev breaking early to lead 4-2 in the decider, Paul rattled off four consecutive games to complete a stunning turnaround. The German world number three contributed to his own downfall with nine double faults to go with his 14 aces, and a foot fault call in the third set did little to steady his composure.
