Paul beats Musetti to clinch Queen’s and emulate McEnroe, Sampras

Tommy Paul outgunned Lorenzo Musetti to win the biggest title of his career and join an illustrious American club at the Queen’s Club Championships.

The 27-year-old fifth seed was crowned the new king of Queen’s with a 6-1 7-6 victory in an hour and 28 minutes.

Paul became the first American winner of the prestigious pre-Wimbledon tournament since Sam Querrey in 2010 and joined a glittering group of former champions from across the pond including John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors and Pete Sampras.

Paul, who knocked out Britain’s Jack Draper in the quarter-finals, said: “It means everything.

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Paul (right) clinched the Queen’s Club Championships trophy on Sunday, beating Italian Musetti in the final

“Going through the hallways here in the locker room and the names on the wall, it’s unbelievable. It was my goal always to put my name next to them.”

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The world No 13 will also overtake compatriot Taylor Fritz to become the new American No 1.

Paul looked set to run away with the match after serving for it at 5-4 in the second set, but Italian Musetti found some belated resistance to break back.

In the tie-break Musetti saved two match points behind his own serve but Paul dispatched the third to seal his victory.

Musetti said: “This was definitely one of the nicest weeks of my career so far.

“Congratulations to Tommy, he deserved to win. I was struggling to get to his level.

“I saved face a bit at the end with the break. I was fighting really hard to get to the third set.”

Musetti, who became a father to his first child in March, added: “I want to dedicate this week to my little boy Ludovico. I just want to go back and hug him.”

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