After capturing his maiden career title at the ATP 250 tournament in 2021, fourth seed Tommy Paul emerged victorious for a second time at the BNP Paribas Nordic Open with a straightforward 6-4, 6-3 win over world No. 10 Grigor Dimitrov in one hour and 25 minutes on Sunday in Stockholm.
In his on-court interview, the 27-year-old commented: “I feel like every match I played a little bit better and better. Today, I came out playing amazing, so I was definitely happy with the performance.”
Neither player found his best performance on serve, with Paul winning 65 percent of his first-serve points compared to his opponent’s 61 percent.
However, Paul found a way to compensate by making the most of his return game while mastering his court coverage to neutralize his adversary.
Dimitrov’s fighting spirit saw him recover from a 0-3 deficit to convert his first break in the seventh game of the first set, narrowing the gap to 3-4.
From there, they exchanged breaks of serve until Brad Stine’s pupil got the better of his rival, closing out 6-4 in 51 minutes.
In a balanced second set, Paul held his nerve to produce the lone break, firing a winner in a crucial eight-game and hold, wrapping up the match in style.
During the trophy ceremony, he said: “It’s a very special place for me. This is where I got my first title a few years ago, and to come out and play the level of tennis I did this week, it’s been a dream.”
The American, who became the fourth player to lift three titles or more at the tour level this season, sealed his ticket into the championship match with an outstanding 6-3, 6-2 victory over three-time major winner Stan Wawrinka in 80 minutes on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Dimitrov, 33, who displayed world-class tennis all week, earned a spot in his fourth final of the year after a three-set thriller against Tallon Griekspoor in which he rallied from a set down to steal a 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 win in two hours and 25 minutes.
The physical encounter took a toll on the Bulgarian, who clinched a record 20-match win at the tournament against the Dutch player.
Paul completes a rock-solid campaign in Stockholm without dropping a set all week, boosting his chances in the ATP Live Race To Turin, just ahead of Dimitrov, keeping his hopes to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time alive.
Both players are scheduled to compete in Vienna next week.