Paul Stuns Etcheverry In Hamburg Epic Battle
Hope
Tommy Paul produced a huge comeback on Wednesday at the Bitpanda Hamburg Open, saving seven match points across two days to defeat Tomas Martin Etcheverry and reach the quarter-finals.
The sixth seed, ranked No. 26 in the PIF ATP Rankings, won 6-7(5), 7-6(5), 7-6(7) in a tightly contested second-round match played under challenging conditions.
Paul first saved two match points on Tuesday at 5-6 in the second set before play was suspended due to darkness with the match level at one set apiece. When play resumed on Wednesday, he saved four more match points in the third set and another in the deciding tie-break to secure victory.
The American has now recorded another notable escape on clay this season, having earlier saved championship points to win the ATP 250 title in Houston against Roman Andres Burruchaga.
Against Etcheverry, Paul saved 10 of 15 break points and converted all five of his own break point opportunities, according to Infosys ATP Stats.
He will now face home favourite Daniel Altmaier in the quarter-finals, in what will be only their second ATP Head to Head meeting. Paul won their previous encounter in Tokyo in 2023.
Elsewhere in Hamburg, third seed Alex de Minaur also progressed to the quarter-finals after a 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina under the roof due to rain.
De Minaur, who arrived in Hamburg on a three-match losing streak, will next face seventh seed Luciano qDarderi, who defeated local favourite Yannick Hanfmann 7-6(7), 7-5 to reach his fourth tour-level quarter-final of the season.
