Dominant

Tien cruises past Paul in Montreal

6-3 6-2

• Montreal
• Hard
• Dominant

Tien vs Paul — 1-1 across 2 meetings in this archive

Learner Tien beat Tommy Paul 6-3, 6-2 in the round of 32 at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Montreal on August 7. Tien is seeded 12th, Paul 17th.

The first set was orderly. Tien broke in the opening game, both players then held for seven straight games, and Tien broke again at 5-3 to close it. He held all four of his service games and saved all three break points he faced. Paul held three of five.

The second set was not orderly. After Tien held for 3-0, neither player held serve again: the last five games of the match were all breaks. Tien broke Paul in every one of Paul's four service games in the set. He also lost his own serve twice, and won none of the eight second-serve points he played, double-faulting twice on top of that. His second serve had produced seven of ten points in the first set. Paul's first-serve rate fell from 67% to 53%.

Neither player was the cleaner striker. Both finished with 13 winners. The separation was in unforced errors: 20 for Tien, 33 for Paul. Paul hit four aces across the match; Tien hit none.

Paul saved three match points before the end. Tien won 60 of the 109 points played, broke serve six times in Paul's nine service games, and advances to the round of 16.

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