Tommy Paul, Frances Tiafoe end 22-year American Roland Garros wait

Roland Garros

Paul, Tiafoe end 22-year American Roland Garros wait

Agassi was the last American man to advance to the last eight in Paris in 2003

Getty Images Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe have both reached the quarter-finals at Roland Garros. By Sam Jacot

American tennis fans had reason to cheer on Sunday when Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe made history at Roland Garros, ending a 22-year wait for American male presence in the Roland Garros quarter-finals.

Not since Andre Agassi’s run in 2003 had an American man broken through to the last eight on Parisian clay. Over the years, hopes had flickered with Andy Roddick in 2009 and Taylor Fritz in 2024, but the fourth round was as far as they could go. Ben Shelton also fell at that stage this year, losing to defending champ Carlos Alcaraz.

But Paul and Tiafoe rewrote that narrative in emphatic style, each recording straight-sets wins against Alexei Popyrin, and Daniel Altmaier, respectively.

The last time two American men had reached the quarter-finals in Paris was in 1996, when Pete Sampras and Jim Courier met at that stage.

Paul’s achievement adds another layer of history. The 28-year-old is also just the ninth American man in the Open Era to reach Grand Slam quarter-finals on all three surfaces. He joined Agassi, Michael Chang, Jimmy Connors, Courier, Vitas Gerulaitis, Brian Gottfried, John McEnroe and Sampras.

The 28-year-old reached the semi-finals on hard courts at the Australian Open in 2023 and the quarter-finals on grass at Wimbledon in 2024.

Paul and Tiafoe will continue their respective quests of becoming the first American champion since Agassi in 1999 when they take to court on Tuesday. Paul meets defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, who leads the No. 12 in the PIF ATP Rankings 4-2 in the pair's Lexus ATP Head2Head series. Tiafoe takes on Italian Lorenzo Musetti.

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