Paul apologies to Henman after Wawrinka win

Tommy Paul advanced to his first tour-level quarter-final on grass on Thursday when he dispatched former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka 6-1, 6-4 in a dominant performance at the Cinch Championships.

The American backed up his first-round win over sixth seed Denis Shapovalov with another strong display on the lawns in London on debut at the ATP 500 event. Speaking after the match, Paul said:

“This week is my first couple of main draw wins on grass. If you had asked me two years ago, I would have said grass was my worst surface. But when I started working with my coach Brad [Stine], he said grass will end up being my best surface and I have tried to mould my game on that. I feel very comfortable out there, hopefully if not this year but next it will be my best surface."

He also admitted apologizing to Tim Henman for missing many volleys:

“I feel I serve and volley well but every time I went to do so today, I missed my first serve, so I didn’t get many chances. I saw Tim Henman just now and he is one of my favourites because of the style of tennis he played and I said: Sorry for all those volleys I missed’. I like coming to the net and rushing people on the grass.”