The buzz was palpable early in the first set. The “USA” chants. Some “let’s go Tommy” lines, too. This was Tommy Paul’s match — even with No. 1 Jannik Sinner on the other side of the net — on Tommy Paul’s night at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

All he had to do was spring a surprise.

For two sets that remained a possibility, even though Paul lost two tiebreaks and played Sinner as excitingly as he could without turning the score around.

And then Paul fell apart. Sinner found a groove. The third set fell apart.

Paul’s night, in which he attempted to give the United States three players in the quarterfinals of the US Open, ended in a 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 loss.

Paul built a 4-1 lead in the first set by scoring 11 points in a row. The last one was a breakthrough for Sinner and sent the crowd into a frenzy.

But Sinner won the next four games and took the lead. Eventually the two games traded minds until the tiebreak came.

Paul had the chance to take a 2-1 lead and fired the ball into the net with a sharp strike.

He brought the score to 3-3, but lost the last four games and therefore lost the set.

The second set followed a similar course.

Sinner held his serve and took all four points, forcing him to another tiebreak. When Paul had the chance to go two points ahead, Sinner prevented this with a series of volleys.

But when the third set came around, everything changed.

Paul couldn’t hold his serve like he did in the first two sets.

He couldn’t complete the rallies with the same finishing shots. When a final shot from Paul came out, Sinner escaped.

And so Paul’s evening ended without a closing party.

Only two Americans — Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz — remained in the quarterfinals, ending the country’s 21-year Grand Slam drought.