Tommy Paul first American in Australian Open semifinal since Andy Roddick in 2009
ATP
Tommy Paul achieved a rare feat by beating compatriot Ben Shelton in the quarter-finals of the 2023 Australian Open.
The event has been a very successful one for players from the United States, and the quarter-final match between rising stars Paul and Shelton just proved it.
Both wanted to reach their maiden Grand Slam semi-final, but there was only one spot available, and they had to fight for it. They had never met on the ATP Tour before, but heading into this match, both of them showed some solid form in Melbourne.
Both have previously eliminated a fellow American, and they wanted to do it again in the quarter-final match. Both players are solid especially on their serve, and fans in the Rod Laver Arena witnessed that in the first set.
The set had to be decided in a tie-break, and also that was decided only by one mini-break as the more experienced Paul won it 8-6. Paul was also the first one to break in the match as he used one of his three chances in the second set to break and win it 6-3.
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After an hour and 33 minutes, the 25-year-old was up 2-0, and youngster Shelton needed a comeback if he wanted to fight for his first major semi-final.
For a moment, it seemed that Paul would be able to serve out the third set after he got an important break. But Shelton fought back for one last time, broke his opponent twice, and won the third set 7-5 to cut the deficit in half.
But Paul started the fourth set with a break, and as he lost only three points on his serve in the set, nothing could stop him from winning the match 7-6(6), 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 in three hours and eight minutes.
Up next, he will meet a winner of the match between the fourth-seeded, Novak Djokovic, and No. 5, Andrey Rublev, in what will be the first semi-final for an American since Andy Roddick in 2009.
