There was a telling moment late in the first set, when young Canadian Gabriel Diallo danced back to his chair after winning the tie-break to take an unexpected lead over American 14th seed Tommy Paul.
As he crossed paths with his opponent, Diallo clenched his fists and shouted to his coach in the stands. Paul, looking at him, smiled back as if to say, “You’ll see.”
39 minutes passed and equality had been quickly restored. Paul ran back to his chair and it was his turn to celebrate. Diallo came back to earth with a slam, a reminder that Grand Slams can humble you very quickly.
In the end, Paul did everything he had to do in front of a raucous Louis Armstrong Stadium, beating his 22-year-old opponent in four sets to book a place in the round of 16 and secure his $325,000 prize money.
The American started slowly against an opponent he had never played before, taking more than an hour to work his way through before finally getting to work.
Tommy Paul roars with joy after winning the second set and leveling the match
Paul proved to be too strong a rival for young Canadian Gabriel Diallo, who qualified for Saturday’s match
It has been a great experience for Diallo, the player whose father is Guinean and whose mother is Ukrainian, who qualified and honed his skills in Kentucky on the American college scene, and was one match point away from not even making the main draw of his first US Open.
At 6’4″ and with a powerful serve, there aren’t many players in the squad who are more formidable when facing off across the net, but his inexperience was on display under the bright lights of the exhibition courts in the biggest match of his career so far.
The Frenchman overcame two brutal matches earlier in the week, first beating Jaume Munar and then shocking 24th-seeded Frenchman Arthur Fils in front of a packed Court 17.
In the first week of the tournament, he spent three more hours on court than Paul, and perhaps that was noticeable as the third round progressed here on Saturday.
The first set was a tough one, with neither player looking like they could hold serve. Paul broke to go 4-3 up, before Diallo returned serve to go 4-4 up. Paul broke again and Diallo did the same. From there, another break for Paul and then another for Diallo. Six in a row to take the first set to a tie-break.
Serena Williams (left) was in the house to watch Paul’s victory over Diallo at Louis Armstrong
Diallo had already spent seven hours on court in his first two matches at the US Open.
After that and Diallo’s ecstatic celebration, the tide began to turn in the American’s favour. Aside from a small section of Diallo fans at the back of the lower grandstand, this was a partisan home crowd, all vying for the man who grew up just 100 miles away in New Jersey.
In the second set, Diallo began to make mistakes, quickly went 3-0 down and eventually succumbed 6-3. In the third set things were worse, with Paul winning 6-1 and asserting his dominance of the match.
Diallo must be given credit for coming back and keeping up with his opponent, taking him to a tie-break in the fourth set to tempt the possibility of a deciding set. How the fans enjoyed it.
Unfortunately, Paul upped his game and won 7-3, sealing the match thanks to Diallo’s serve with a wonderful forehand down the line winner.
Now, for the American, it’s time to look ahead, and as far as the Grand Slam round of 16 goes, the picture couldn’t be clearer than this: no Djokovic, no Alcaraz and 10 of the top 20 seeds are already on flights home from New York.
The problem for Paul? Next up against him is Jannik Sinner, the world’s best player.
By the time she reached the fourth round she had already equalled her best result at the US Open, but the real hard work begins now.
