In Tennis, Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul Advance to Men’s Doubles Bronze Medal Match

PARIS — Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul left the regular ATP men’s tennis tour to compete in the Olympic Games Paris 2024. As Paul said last week on the eve of the Games, “When you get the call up for the Olympics, it's hard to turn it down.”

Now, the two men get a chance to play for an Olympic medal, even if it’s not the metallurgic content that they wanted: bronze instead of gold.

“That's the goal now,” said Paul, of the Olympic bronze medal. “We’ve got to get back out there tomorrow and produce some great tennis hopefully.”

The match brought an end to Fritz’s and Paul’s great run in doubles at these Olympic Games. Normally singles players at the Grand Slam matches, the two have played doubles together since they were juniors. Fritz is age 26, Paul 27. Recently, they played men’s doubles together at the Italian Open, losing in the first round.

“I would say the matches this week is probably been some of our best tennis that we've that we've played,” said Paul.

Fritz quickly added with a laugh, “This is the hardest we've ever really tried, to be fair.”

In addition to playing singles at the Paris Games, the two paired in doubles because — as Fritz said last week — they wanted as many opportunities as possible to win an Olympic medal. They are also best friends. (And 2015 on these same red clay courts, they faced each other in the junior finals of the French Open, with Paul taking the win.)

Seeded third in men’s doubles at the Olympic tournament — based on their high singles rankings (12th for Fritz, 13th for Paul) — the Americans used baseline power and finesse at the net to advance to the semis. Until the semifinal match, the two Americans had not dropped a set, memorably beating three-time Grand Slam champion and three-time Olympic medalist Andy Murray and Daniel Evans from Great Britain in the quarterfinals.

“I felt like there wasn't much the people on other side the net could do,” said Fritz of their doubles play earlier in the Olympic tournament.

Until they met Ebden and Peers, both 36 years old and formidable doubles players. Formerly ranked no.1, Ebden has won three Grand Slam titles in men’s doubles, including the 2024 Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2022 (with partner Rohan Bopanna from India). He also owns the mixed doubles Australian Open title from 2013. In May 2024, Ebden advanced to the semifinals of the French Open.

Peers is a Grand Slam-winning doubles player as well, having claimed the 2017 Australian Open title with partner Henri Kontinen (Finland). Interestingly, in that final, Peers and Kontinen faced Bob and Mike Bryan. Bob Bryan is coaching the 2024 U.S. Olympic team.

But Fritz and Paul were optimistic. They have been on a tear this season in men’s singles. Fritz advanced to the quarterfinals at both the 2024 Australian Open and Wimbledon; Paul was also a quarterfinalist at Wimbledon this year. And both men played well at Roland-Garros in May in the French Open (Paul advancing to the third round, Fritz to the round of 16).

In front of a partisan crowd chanting “USA” between points in the Olympic semifinal match, Fritz and Paul hung with the Australian doubles specialists through 5-5 in the first set. Then the relentless pressure from the Ebden and Peers finally broke the Americans.

“That was key to just stay on top of them,” explained Ebden. “They’re both unbelievable singles players. They're both almost top 10, and they're playing great, great doubles now too, especially on clay.

“We knew we had our work cut out, and we had to fight really, really hard to not only stay with them, but get ahead of them.”

The Australians mixed up their serves and gave their opponents different looks on the court, playing defense in one game, offense in the next.

“We just couldn't really get into the rhythm on the return,” explained Fritz. “We'd have a game where Tommy had some good ones and gave me some chances, and I couldn't get it, or a game where I'd be connecting on the return and wouldn't get the chances. It's tough.”

Fritz and Paul will regroup overnight. They have a good chance at winning a bronze medal tomorrow. Key to their success at this Games is their coach, two-time Olympic medalist Bob Bryan, who sat in the audience, encouraging the team with thumbs-ups.

“It's helped a ton all week,” said Fritz of the Bryans’s help. “It'd be crazy to say that it's not a huge advantage. It helped to have the best doubles team ever helping us through this.”

Normally, in tennis, once you lose a match, you’re out. But at the Olympic Games, semifinals losers have another chance: the bronze medal match. The trick is to quickly regroup mentally.

“It sucks to lose, it hurts, we wanted to win a gold medal,” said Fritz. “But it's going to hurt a lot more if we spend too long thinking about that and then leave here with absolutely nothing.”

The Czech doubles team that Fritz and Paul face in the bronze medal match also have significant doubles experience, particularly in Grand Slams. Both have advanced as far as the quarterfinals of a Slam, with Machac making the semis of the 2024 Australian Open.

But Ebden likes the Americans’ chances.

“Especially on a clay court, they're great singles players playing doubles, and they know what they're doing,” said the Australian. “They've got the Bryans coaching them, they're here in the semifinals and putting up a big effort. They have a good chance to win the bronze now.”

Fritz and Paul hope that Paris won’t be their last chance at Olympic gold. Paul is already a two-time Olympian; he lost in the first round of men’s singles at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Earlier this week, Fritz alluded to the fact that Paris is a warm-up of sorts for the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028.

“I don’t know where I’m going to be in four years,” Fritz told reporters. “I’m going to be 30. I hope I’m going to play in LA, and even if I do, I wouldn’t want that to be my first Olympics. I want to get this experience and really give myself the absolute best chance to perform in LA. I think that’s going to be a great opportunity for me, and being here is a great experience for that.”

Ebden and Peers will play in the gold medal match tomorrow against Team USA’s Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek. Fritz and Paul will play Machac and Pavlaskek for the bronze medal, also tomorrow.

“All that we can do is just come back tomorrow and win,” said Fritz.

With Ram and Austin Krajicek in the gold medal final tomorrow, Team USA is guaranteed to win at least one medal in tennis at Paris 2024. The U.S. last won Olympic medals in tennis in 2016, including a medal in men’s doubles (bronze for Steve Johnson and Jack Sock).

An award-winning freelance writer based in Vermont, Peggy Shinn is in Paris covering her eighth Olympic Games. She has contributed to TeamUSA.org since its inception in 2008.