Dallas, Feb 8 (IANS) For the third consecutive match in his Dallas Open title defense, Tommy Paul overcame a fellow American to advance in the semis. After hard-fought three-set victories against Jenson Brooksby and Ethan Quinn in the early rounds, the third seed delivered a strong performance to defeat his close friend Reilly Opelka 7-6(3), 6-2 in Friday’s quarter-finals.
Paul, now boasting a 17-5 record on home soil since the start of 2024, has secured seven wins in Dallas. Competing in his first tournament as a Top 10 player, the World No. 9 has reached his 16th tour-level semi-final (7-8) and his fourth on indoor hard courts. Notably, Paul has won the title in each of his four previous indoor runs to this stage, with triumphs in Stockholm (2021, 2024) and Dallas (2023).
In his head-to-head encounter with the 27-year-old Americans, Paul’s commanding serve allowed him to dictate play against the towering 6-foot-11 Opelka. Paul did not face a break point and won an impressive 83% (34/41) of points on his first serve.
“Not to have breakpoints after a couple of times I was down 0/30 and I really had to tighten up on those games… I’m happy with my serve performance for sure,” Paul said after the match.
Despite firing nine aces, Opelka struggled to challenge Paul in rallies, with the latter utilizing his slice effectively throughout the 90-minute match. Among those in attendance was NBA star Klay Thompson of the Dallas Mavericks, seated in the front row.
“Getting his serve back in the court is pretty tough,” Paul admitted. “The balls were moving pretty quick today. It felt quicker today than others. Maybe it’s just because I had Reilly serving to me.”
Paul will next face Denis Shapovalov, who continued his impressive run by backing up his dramatic upset of Taylor Fritz with a 7-6(5), 6-0 victory over sixth seed Tomas Machac. Shapovalov, through to his first semi-final above the ATP 250 level since 2022 (Vienna), has climbed nine places to No. 45.
“I’m beating some really tough opponents. It’s been a tough draw but I’m really happy and excited with the way I’m playing,” Shapovalov said. Earlier in the week, he overcame Miomir Kecmanovic in the opening round. Machac initially put up a strong fight, leading in the tie-break, but Shapovalov dominated the second set with power and precision to seal the win.
Meanwhile, in the other half of the draw, second seed Casper Ruud and Jaume Munar secured semi-final spots. Ruud advanced past Yoshihito Nishioka after building a 7-5, 3-2 lead before the Japanese player was forced to retire due to a shoulder injury. Munar followed up his surprise victory over Ben Shelton with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win against eighth seed Matteo Arnaldi.
–IANS
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