"One of the coolest guys ever, super nice guy" - Tommy Paul picks John Isner along with Matteo Berrettini and Frances Tiafoe as the "coolest cats"

Tommy Paul doesn't think he is one of the three coolest male players on the tour and instead picked Matteo Berrettini, Frances Tiafoe, and John Isner.

Seed No. 16 Paul defeated Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-3, 7-5 in the third round of the 2023 Miami Open on Sunday, March 26. This was only the second tour-level meeting between the two players, with the American winning a five-set thriller against Fokina in the second round of the 2023 Australian Open.

Paul has now won all of his last 12 encounters against Spanish players, including a win against World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz at the 2022 Canadian Open and beating Rafael Nadal at the 2022 Paris Masters.

Speaking on the Tennis Channel after reaching the fourth round in Miami, Paul refused to believe Prakash Amritraj when the former player told him that he was considered the "coolest cat" on the tour. When the World No. 19 was asked to name three players who would fit the bill, he picked Berrettini, Tiafoe, and Isner.

"I'm not there. I will go, not in order, with Berrettini. He's pretty cool. I mean that's too easy," Paul said. "And then Tiafoe, everybody loves Foe. I love Isner. I think Isner is one of the coolest guys ever, super nice guy and has always been great to all the young Americans. So I'm going to throw him in there too."

Tommy Paul to face Carlos Alcaraz in Miami Open 2023 R4

Tommy Paul during the 2023 Miami Open

After losing to Felix Auger-Aliassime in the fourth round of the 2023 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Tommy Paul defeated Marc-Andrea Husler and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina to reach the fourth round of the 2023 Miami Open.

He is set to face arguably the biggest challenge on the tour today — 2023 Indian Wells champion Carlos Alcaraz.

This will be the second time that the two players will clash, with Paul securing a 6-7(4), 7-6(7), 6-3 win over the Spaniard in the second round of the 2022 Canadian Open previously.

Alcaraz has won his last eight matches on the tour, all in straight sets. He beat Dusan Lajovic 6-0, 7-6(5) in the third round to keep his hopes alive of winning the Sunshine Double.

In a conversation with the Tennis Channel, 25-year-old Paul recalled his first encounter with the 19-year-old and expressed his excitement about facing him again.

"I played an awesome match against him last year, I think in the first or second round in Montreal. I'd say the conditions are kind of similar here to there and I'm excited to get out there," Tommy Paul said.

Alcaraz also heaped praise on the American for his on-court movement and powerful groundstrokes and stated that he would have to play at his best to beat Paul.