Tommy Paul

2023 - 1 - 25

Post cover — Image courtesy of "Home of the Olympic Channel"

Tommy Paul wins Australian Open all-American quarterfinal; Novak ... (Home of the Olympic Channel)

Tommy Paul beat Ben Shelton in an all-American matchup in the Australian Open quarterfinals, advancing to play Novak Djokovic.

They shared a light moment when Paul’s coach, Brad Stine, told him to look for a serve down the “T” on the Ad side of the court. Shelton noticed the exchange and kicked his serve wide, leaving Paul out of position and with no chance at reaching the ace. “I’ve been flying under the radar a little bit.” “Extremely solid from the baseline,” Shelton said. … They kind of treated me like one of their own,” he observed — Paul was not drawing the same amount adoration. As a bonus, Paul’s mother was in the crowd for the biggest victory of his career. Now Paul is the first man from his country to make it to the final four at Melbourne Park since Andy Roddick in 2009. Since turning professional, he has claimed one tour-level trophy, at Stockholm in 2021, and, until this week, had made it as far as the fourth round at just one Grand Slam tournament — at Wimbledon a year ago. Roddick was also the last man from the U.S. “She deserves to be here and deserves to see me win big matches.” … Mine has been, like, the slowest,” the 35th-ranked Paul said, mentioning a group of Americans he grew up with: Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Reilly Opelka. Oi, Oi, Oi!” or “Go, Gators!”

It's Tommy Paul vs. Novak Djokovic in an Australian Open Semifinal (The New York Times)

Paul, the first American man to reach an Australian Open singles semifinal since Andy Roddick in 2009, must now face Novak Djokovic.

He is an all-surface threat who grew up playing on green clay at his family’s club in North Carolina and won the French Open boys’ title on red clay in 2015, beating Fritz in the final. She is an audiologist and had only a carry-on bag after scrambling to make the trip on short notice after Paul beat Roberto Bautista Agut in the fourth round. Now, he has made his deepest Grand Slam run on a hardcourt. Last year, he reached the fourth round at Wimbledon on grass. Open and had chances in the semis, and who knows what would have happened if he had won that match? He already has defeated top-drawer opponents: beating Rafael Nadal and the world No. “And he was like, ‘Unreal!’” His mother Jill MacMillan, a former college player at East Carolina University who was his first coach, arrived in Melbourne on Wednesday morning after flying from Newark to Los Angeles to Melbourne in economy class in her scrubs. “You see Fritz win a Masters 1000, and I think all of us we’re all happy for him, but we’re all like, ‘OK, he did it. I’m going to make him jump in the Yarra if we win this thing. “And then ‘Foe makes semifinals of the U.S. “I think it applies a lot,” Paul said.

American Tommy Paul into Australian Open semi-finals (RNZ)

Tommy Paul became the first American man to reach the Australian Open semi-finals since Andy Roddick in 2009 after outclassing Ben Shelton.

Doing well in a Grand Slam is everyone's dream." I love these conditions, this court, it's definitely special for me," Djokovic said. He joins John Isner and Frances Tiafoe as the only active American men to have reached the last four of a major.

Tommy Paul gets better of Ben Shelton to reach Australian Open ... (Irish Examiner)

Tommy Paul got the better of fellow American Ben Shelton to reach his first grand slam semi-final at the Australian Open.

Paul said: “This is my first time on this court, my first time in the quarter-finals of a slam. I’m pumped to be there and obviously really excited for whoever I play on Friday. The run of 20-year-old Shelton, in just his second grand slam and on his first trip outside the USA, has been one of the stories of the tournament.

Tommy Paul says it is 'awesome' to face Novak Djokovic in ... (Eurosport.com)

Tommy Paul says it is 'awesome' to face Novak Djokovic in their Australian Open 2023 semi-final. Stream the 2023 Australian Open live on discovery+, ...

Tommy Paul beats Ben Shelton in all-American clash to reach ... (CNN)

Tommy Paul beat fellow American Ben Shelton in a hard-fought match at the Australian Open to reach the first grand slam semifinal of his career.

Shelton also fired down 24 aces during the match, the fastest a booming 220 km/h, and 42 winners. The 20-year-old currently boasts a career-high ranking – world No. [Novak Djokovic](http://cnn.com/2023/01/23/tennis/novak-djokovic-alex-de-minaur-australian-open-spt-intl/index.html) or world No. “It is also Ben Shelton’s first time leaving the States, so I think he’s had a pretty good tournament as well. [Ben Shelton](http://cnn.com/2023/01/24/tennis/ben-shelton-profile-australian-open-spt-intl/index.html) in a hard-fought match at the [Australian Open](http://cnn.com/2023/01/24/tennis/jessica-pegula-victoria-azarenka-australian-open-spt-intl/index.html) to reach the first grand slam semifinal of his career. The big-hitting lefty was playing in only the second grand slam of his career – the first coming at the US Open at the end of 2022 – and before traveling to New Zealand and Australia in preparation for the first grand slam of the year had never even been outside of the US.