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Sep/19

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Biofile Tommy Paul Interview

By Scoop Malinowski

Status: ATP no. 14.

Ht: 6-1 Wt: 170

DOB: May 17, 1997 In: Voorhees, NJ

Tennis Inspirations: Andy Roddick – straight up, favorite player.

First Tennis Memory: Probably at the Athletic Club Courtside in Greenshoro, NC where I grew up, I saw all the old people out there playing doubles. I was like, all right, I’m gonna get out there and do that. And then I remember trying to play out there – it didn’t really go too great the first time (age six).

Nicknames: Tommy, T-Paul.

Greatest Sports Moment: Geez… I don’t know. I’ve had a lot of moments where I was pretty happy on the court. I can’t really pinpoint greatest moment. I just enjoy being out on the court.


Most Painful Moment: I don’t know, I’ve had some losses. Definitely had some losses. Maybe like a few summers ago. I played a few Futures and I lost like first round on the Futures. That was coming back from one of my injuries. That was pretty painful to me in my career.


First Famous Player You Met Or Encountered: Paul Goldstein, right here at qualifying at US Open.


Last Book Read: I actually read Tim Tebow’s book not that long ago. I have trouble finishing books. I probably read like three books at a time. But I’ll read about twenty pages and then I’ll switch to the next book [laughs]. I’m not too good at finishing one.

Funniest Players Encountered: All my friends are really funny – Reilly Opelka, Taylor Fritz, all my friends that we hang out with.

Fiercest Competitors Encountered: I have no clue [smiles], really no clue.

Strangest Match: I played Denis Kudla and we played a three set match – 62 06 60 – pretty strange match.

Why Do You Love Playing Tennis: I’ve always loved it since I was little. I’ve loved how competitive it is and one versus one, gotta find a way to win.

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: Vanilla.

Funny Tennis Memory: We have fun on court in practice, I can’t really name one time.

Embarrassing Tennis Memory: Obviously, we’ve swung and missed at a couple of balls. Probably swinging and missing at a ball and got really embarrassed.

Best You Ever Felt On Court: At some point in the DC (Citi Open) tournament two years ago in 2017. I beat (Casper) Ruud and then (Lucas) Pouille and then (Gilles) Muller and then I was up a set and a break on (Kei) Nishikori. Blew it. Ended up losing that match [laughs]. That was kinda tough. That was some of my best tennis. I think.

Favorite Sport Outside Tennis: Watching? NFL football, play – basketball.

People Qualities Most Admired: Funny, (I) like funny people, sarcastic. I think sarcasm is so funny. And also, I like when they can be serious (at this moment of the interview Alexander Zverev walks by and silently sticks his hand out to fist bump Paul) when they need to be and also can go in there and not be crazy all the time.

You can read more Biofiles like this at www.mrbiofile.com

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69 comments

  • Hartt · September 12, 2019 at 8:23 am

    Scoop, Bianca is extremely ambitious. I don’t think wanting to fit in with her friends is on the agenda. She is outgoing and seems well-liked by the other players. But her goal is simple – to win as many Slams as possible and to be No.1. Plus to inspire others to pick up a tennis racquet.

    Of course next year, her sophomore year, will be tough. But I think she will be just fine.

  • Scoop Malinowski · September 12, 2019 at 8:33 am

    Hartt, has Nathalie Tauziat been mentioned in all this Bibi hoopla? Or has her impact on the development of Bibi been forgotten?

  • Hartt · September 12, 2019 at 9:03 am

    I haven’t seen anything about Tauziat. But of course it was a few years ago that she was Bianca’s coach. But I agree that her contribution should be acknowledged.

    There is way more excitement over Bianca’s USO title than I’d expected. You’d think she was a hockey or basketball player! Both Toronto and her hometown of Mississauga talked about possible rallies or parades. Mississauga, a city of over 700,000, will name a street after her, Andreescu Way. Many said it should be Andreescu Court, but the mayor explained that the city is so built up now that it is unlikely there will be any new courts.

  • catherine · September 12, 2019 at 9:22 am

    Poor Coco. That dog is in the right place to getting its head turned 🙂

    Scoop – I don’t think keeping friends and fitting in will to be a problems for Bianca. In the short term it’s going to be learning to say no and keeping a balance with all these extraneous activites and coping with the competition. Interesting to see how things work out in Asia.

  • Harold · September 12, 2019 at 9:28 am

    Coco just signed with Purina Dog Chow..Agent is now trying to get her in the Westminster Dog Show. Kerber said screw this. shes bringing a German Shepherd to her next match

  • Scoop Malinowski · September 12, 2019 at 9:35 am

    Hartt, it’s possible Andreescu is Canada’s greatest sports champion since Wayne Gretzky. Lennox Lewis won the Olympic gold medal for Canada but he was born in London, England. Ben Johnson was a major sprint star and 100 meter gold medalist but he ended up going down the drain because he was caught using steroids. It’s been a long, long time since Canada enjoyed a major sports champion. Help me if I’m wrong, maybe I’m forgetting someone. Andreescu’s achievement maybe the biggest sports triumph since Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers dominated hockey in the early 1980s.

  • Scoop Malinowski · September 12, 2019 at 9:38 am

    Harold, that was my line two days ago about Coco endorsing dog food and the Westminster Dog Show. But good one on Kerber and hauling a German Shepherd into her box! Coco also signed up to star in the remake of Benji (70s dog movies) and Animal Planet reality show.

  • Harold · September 12, 2019 at 9:49 am

    Sorry, the negotiations have bogged down over where to put the Purina patch…

    This site has turned into “ The Pathos of Angie Kerber vs Coco the Dog”

  • Scoop Malinowski · September 12, 2019 at 10:12 am

    Harold just imagine the frenzy here if Vince Spadea is hired as Andreescu’s hitting partner or Rios does a Biofile.

  • catherine · September 12, 2019 at 12:37 pm

    Angie’s just read about Kim Clijsters and she thinks now she can do another 5 years. Her German Shepherd will have Coco as a pre-match snack next time she and the DQ meet 🙂

  • Hartt · September 12, 2019 at 12:39 pm

    Scoop, Mike Weir winning Augusta was the other big sporting event, especially in an individual sport. He did that in 2003 and won 8 tiles on the PGA tour. But he was established when he won Augusta, whereas Bianca is just at the beginning of her career. And I expect her tennis career will be more successful than Weir’s golf one.

  • Scoop Malinowski · September 12, 2019 at 12:45 pm

    Hartt, have officials talked about when they plan to change the name of Ontario to Andreescu? Also I hear a rumor that Edmonton Oilers will become the Edmonton Andreescus in 2020, has this been discussed in the media? Thank you.

  • Hartt · September 12, 2019 at 12:48 pm

    I would put $ on Coco vs a German shepherd. Those little dogs can be fierce, and I bet Coco has the same grit and determination that her mistress has.

    Bianca said she plans to start practicing again on Friday. Coco is probably relieved. Going from one talk show to another must get tiring.

    But when there are the rallies (and maybe a parade) for Bianca, I bet Coco will be front and centre!

  • Andrew Miller · September 12, 2019 at 1:04 pm

    Bodo piece was good on women’s tennis and generations. Basically: women’s tennis pays out more professionally than pretty much every other pro sport. An elite women’s (name your sport) will not make anywhere as much as a top tennis player on the WTA. It’s not even close.

    Second, if a country has top tennis players (eg Czechoslovakia, U.S., Canada, whatever) then kids that are athletes take their cues from that. Maybe they’ll be hockey stars, fine.

    But those facts explain a lot. Richard Williams sees huge check and says I’m going to have tennis playing daughters.

    I don’t think it’s quite right – there haven’t been fantastic Bulgarian women’s players with the Maleeva girls. I don’t know what Romania has in store and who Halep has inspired. Catherine said Germany’s women’s future is more or less dead despite the success of Kerber.

    But then again we can always look at the cold hard facts. Steffi Graf retired around 30-32 years old, around 1999. Kerber today in 2019 is thirty. So from say 1995 to 1999 it’s possible Kerber saw Graf winning and said one day I’ll win big like that. Kerber began playing according to the Guardian at age three and her first tennis memories are watching Graf play, and Grad is her hero.

    So when all is said and done, this is another way champs are made.

    It’s sad because here in the U.S. on the men’s side, young players will either have to find a player to be their favorite or some coach that’s obsessed with a player will have to teach them the game to keep them inspired. Or some how they’ll be inspired.

    Then again, it would be worse if a player is from a country without a tennis tradition. I guess like Serbia!

  • Scoop Malinowski · September 12, 2019 at 1:11 pm

    It didn’t take long for Coco Gauff to find herself already overshadowed by a new Coco. Coco Vandeweghe might as well retire.

  • Hartt · September 12, 2019 at 1:41 pm

    Yes, sadly for Gauff, Coco the pup is THE Ccco right now. Maybe Coco G. should go back to Cori. But if Coco G. does well at the AO next year, she will become THE Coco again.

  • Hartt · September 12, 2019 at 1:45 pm

    Even though Bouchard’s career has not been great, she did inspire some girls to take up tennis. I think Bianca will have a much bigger impact.

    Keep an eye on Canadian Leylah Annie Fernandez, who turned 17 a few days ago. She won the RG junior girls’ title this year, and reached No.1 in the junior rankings. But it looks like she has left juniors behind, and has had some nice wins on the pro tour over the last few months.

    She has a slight frame, but still hits with power, and is an excellent competitor.

  • catherine · September 12, 2019 at 2:14 pm

    Andrew – Kerber (now 31) began playing because she lived in an apartment above a tennis court and her mother played, so naturally she began looking at Steffi as a model although she couldn’t have seen her play that much. Not sure why the cupboard is so bare in German women’s tennis after the Kerber/Petko/Georges generation. German girls seem to leave the game in their early or mid 20s. Having a top player doesn’t guarantee a tennis boom in either men’s or women’s tennis although it can help. Czech R has a tennis culture going back many years, so has Australia. Clearly having a background helps although it’s probably a matter of luck really, what talents emerge.

    Hartt – you’ve mentioned Fernandez before and she seems promising but she’s maybe on the small side. Having said that – is Cibulkova still playing ? Haven’t seen her around for a while.

  • Hartt · September 12, 2019 at 2:17 pm

    Leylah Annie Fernandez is relatively small, and that could hold her back in the pro ranks. I guess we will see.

    I read recently that Cibulkova hasn’t played in many months, although the article did not say why (it was a general article on WTA rankings).

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