AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 23, 2026

Tommy Paul

Press Conference

T. PAUL/A. Davidovich Fokina

6-1, 6-1 (ret.)

THE MODERATOR: Tommy, not the way you would of wanted to win today. But are you confident about your performance level and the challenges for your next round?

TOMMY PAUL: Yeah, I mean, obviously unfortunate that he had to pull out. I hope he feels better soon.

But for me, I think I started the match really well. It's sometimes difficult when somebody's struggling to keep focused. I thought I did a pretty good job with that.

Yeah, I mean, I think I've been playing pretty good tennis so far this tournament. Really looking forward to the next match.

Q. You have this stat of winning five sets in a row 6-1 against him. That's pretty remarkable for two top players to have that.

TOMMY PAUL: It's interesting. I didn't even realize that. I mean, I think I have played some really good tennis against him. I don't know what the reason is. I mean, I usually come out playing pretty well.

Last year here, I know he played three five-setters before we played. I'm sure he was pretty tired.

Yeah, I'm not sure why I have been playing great against him.

Q. Playing Carlos next. You've had some success against him in the past. What is your sense of what you've been able to do that works for you?

TOMMY PAUL: I mean, it's always an interesting matchup. Always a great challenge playing Carlos. He can really do anything on the court. Lightning fast. I mean, he's like the standard that everyone's trying to catch up to right now.

But you got to go into that with excitement, be ready to face that, be ready to bring your best level, believe in yourself.

That's something that I bring to the table every time I play Carlos. I believe I can win every time I go out there. Without that, you're going out there with no purpose.

So I'm more excited than anything about the matchup. Like I said, I've been playing great tennis so far this tournament. Hopefully we can keep going and get even better.

Q. Is there part of you that's relieved to not have had a long match today?

TOMMY PAUL: It's always nice to get matches done quicker, especially in slams in the early rounds. It helps you later in the tournament. So yeah, of course (smiling).

Q. You have beaten Carlos a couple times, but obviously not in two or three years. Are you thinking about trying some different things? What's your mindset?

TOMMY PAUL: Not really. I mean, I think for the most part we set a game plan that's felt like the right game plan against him. It's about executing against Carlos. You can't really make too many mistakes.

For me, I mean, the game plan, it's really all about executing, honestly. I got to serve well. I got to get to the net. I got to attack. I got to try and play on my terms as much as possible.

Q. Writing about Stan Wawrinka who has a much better record in best-of-five than best-of-three. As a guy who plays both, what makes someone really tougher in a best-of-five match?

TOMMY PAUL: Yeah, I mean, it's so different, the two-out-of-three, three-out-of-five. In some ways you have to, like, reserve yourself a little bit, but at the same time I go into matches thinking set one, obviously you want to win set two, but set three is on my mind. I'm thinking set three is a priority for me.

Obviously fitness comes into it. But when I play five-setters, I don't feel as many nerves I guess. I mean, you can mess up and you can have the opportunity to make up for it later in the match. It's a really, really long match, you know? They can extend for hours and hours. You're not going to be perfect. The mistakes don't feel as bad in a three-out-of-five-set match.

I think it's mindset. Like you said, some people are better in three-out-of-five, some people are better in two-out-of-three. I don't know that I've really been known to be like a super hot starter. But I like to think I'm able to work my way into matches if I come out not playing well. I think that's pretty valuable in a three-out-of-five-set match.

Q. He said it's almost more relaxing, opposite of the 1 Point Slam. Best-of-five you can breathe.

TOMMY PAUL: You're in the second or third set at 5-All, it's not as stressful as a two-out-of-three set match at 5-All in the third, of course. You don't feel those tensions until really late in the match.

Q. You've never played Learner. What do you know about him or his game?

TOMMY PAUL: I'm super impressed with Learner. He's obviously been putting up some really good results. He's climbing up the rankings really fast. He's a tricky player and does not miss much at all.

I don't know that we even ever practiced together. I haven't watched a ton of him until the past, like, six months or so. I've really enjoyed watching him. He's got a good team around him. He's got a really good mindset. He's a great kid. I'm happy for his success. I'm sure he's going to have a lot more of it.

Q. I don't know if you've seen the forecast tomorrow, but it's 40 degrees, which is about 110 Fahrenheit. Drops down on Sunday. Are you happy you're not playing tomorrow?

TOMMY PAUL: Yeah, I mean, it's not always a lot of fun playing in those temperatures. I do feel a little bad for some of the guys.

I heard they're going to close the roof on the main court maybe just to guarantee that the matches play. I'm not pretty sure what the heat rule is. I am pretty sure if it's over a certain amount, they take people off the court. I hope they're able to get in all the matches tomorrow. I'll be on the practice court, so I'll be a little bit.

Q. Ethan has also had a good tournament here. What do you think of his rise?

TOMMY PAUL: I mean, those two wins that he's had so far are undeniably great wins. To do them back to back is unreal.

I think he's playing amazing tennis. He's gaining confidence. He's going to be one of those guys that you don't want to draw early in tournaments.

He's got two big weapons with his serve and his forehand. He plays, as my coach would say, traditional American tennis. I mean, he's exciting to watch. I've been watching all of his matches. I'm really pumped for him.