Tommy Paul becomes the first American man to reach the Australian Open semifinals since Andy Roddick in 2009
Tommy Paul became the first male tennis player from the United States to reach the Australian Open semifinals since Andy Roddick in 2009.
The 25-year-old reached the last four of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career by defeating Ben Shelton 7-6(6), 6-3, 5-7, 6-4. He produced an impressive performance throughout the match, winning 66 out of 77 points on his first serve and 27 out of 40 on his second. The 25-year-old also hit 43 winners compared to 26 unforced errors.
Tommy Paul thus became the first American man to reach the Australian Open semifinals since Andy Roddick in 2009. The former World No. 1 was seeded seventh at the time and reached the quarterfinals, following wins over Bjorn Rehnquist, Xavier Malisse, Fabrice Santoro and Tommy Robredo.
Roddick faced Novak Djokovic in the last eight and booked his place in the semifinals after the Serb was forced to retire due to an injury. Here, he lost 6-2, 7-5, 7-5 to Roger Federer.
Since Roddick's run in 2009, a few male players from the United States have reached the Australian Open quarterfinals but none were able to progress any further until Tommy Paul.
The 25-year-old's exploits in Melbourne will see him enter the Top 20 of the ATP rankings in the upcoming week.
25yo Tommy Paul plays another great match and beats 20yo Ben Shelton 7-6(6), 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 to reach the semifinals at the #AusOpen.
-- First career Slam SF
-- First US man into the top 4 in Melbourne in 13 years (Roddick-Fish play a QF in 2010).
-- Gonna be top 20 on Monday https://t.co/GOcxSRGYEG
Paul said after the match that he was pumped to reach his maiden Grand Slam semifinal. The 25-year-old also claimed that he is excited to face whoever he will in his next match.
"I was doing a couple of interviews and they were asking how it sounds to be in the quarterfinals. And I was like, 'Semifinals sounds a little better.' I'm pumped to be there and obviously really excited for whoever I play on Friday," Paul said.
Tommy Paul will face either Novak Djokovic or Andrey Rublev in the Australian Open semifinals
Tommy Paul has a daunting task in the semifinals as he will face either Novak Djokovic or Andrey Rublev.
The American is yet to play Djokovic but has already locked horns with Rublev on five occasions, with the Russian having won four of those matches. The last meeting between Paul and Rublev came in the quarterfinals of last year's Gijon Open, with the latter winning 7-5, 6-3.
Whoever wins the semifinals will face either third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas or Jiri Lehecka in the Australian Open final.