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Tommy Paul hits a return during his men’s singles match on Wednesday at the U.S. Open on Wednesday in Flushing, N.Y.

Tommy Paul hits a shot during his men's singles match on Monday at the U.S. Open in Flushing, N.Y.

Tommy Paul hits a return during his men’s singles match on Wednesday at the U.S. Open on Wednesday in Flushing, N.Y.

Tommy Paul hits a shot during his men's singles match on Monday at the U.S. Open in Flushing, N.Y.

NEW YORK – The Greenville kid had 15,000 people on their feet and screaming his name.

Four hours into yet another five-set marathon U.S. Open match for Tommy Paul, the American tennis standout was still battling and creating a cacophony of noise with spectators appreciating his ferocious backhand winners and fight on Friday.

But finally, the stamina and talent of No. 5 seed Casper Ruud, and the toll of Paul’s earlier wins, was too much, and Paul fell in this third-round match, 7-6, 6-7, 7-6, 5-7, 6-0.

The defeat capped the most successful week ever here at Billie Jean King National Tennis Center for Paul, the No. 29 seed here who lived in Greenville until he was 13, then he moved to Florida to train with USTA coaches before later returning and graduating from J.H. Rose High School.

“If you look at the fifth set score you would think I just ran out of gas, but I don’t feel like that was the case,” Paul said. “Honestly, I felt like I could get myself back into the match at any point in the fifth set until he broke me at 4-0, to go up 5-0. That was a heartbreaker.

“It was a mixture of him stepping up his level, and there were some unlucky points, but he stepped up and I didn’t.”

Paul, the more aggressive player who blasted 61 winners to his opponent’s 37, looked to be fresh at the end of the fourth set, when, leading 6-5, he broke Ruud’s serve with four terrific points, punctuating the game with a deep forehand crosscourt that forced an error from the Norwegian.

But with the crowd roaring, Paul’s game fell apart, while Ruud played his best tennis of the match. Ruud broke Paul’s serve in the first and third games of the fifth set, and then ran away to advance to his first U.S. Open Round of 16.

“Best crowd support I’ve ever had, it was unreal,” Paul said of his first time playing on the Open’s No. 2 court. “That’s why you play tennis when you’re young, to hope you get in situations like this.”

Ruud, this year’s Wimbledon finalist, had spent two fewer hours on court in his first two matches, and it showed in the final set, which saw Paul win but 10 points.

“He’s got the complete package, and he’s one of the best movers on the whole tour,” Ruud said of Paul. “He’s got a great forehand, and his movement, you’re going to have to expect to play not one winner but maybe three or four to win the point. He kept fighting and I was fortunate to get off to a great start in the fifth.”

If there’s one game in the match Paul will likely be thinking about for weeks, it will be the 12th game of the third set. He had just broken Ruud to go up 6-5, and quickly got to 40-0 on his own serve.

But a forehand unforced error followed by a missed backhand into the net got Ruud back in (Paul had 82 unforced errors Friday), and moments later Paul missed an overhead wide while backing up to force yet another tiebreak, which Ruud won easily.

Still, the week capped a very successful Grand Slam year for Paul, who vaulted into the Top 40 this year and reached the fourth round at Wimbledon. He said he put “enormous” pressure on himself to finally win a match at his home Slam, having gone 0-4 in previous attempts, so that once he did that, he felt much more relaxed.

“I don’t think I could gain confidence from losing a match, but I think it was a good U.S. Open just because I got weight off my shoulders,” Paul said. “I felt so much more relaxed, and I know how to play in the U.S. Open now. It’s a completely different tournament than any other tournament in the world, and you have to treat it differently. I learned how to do it for myself.”

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