Tommy Paul has stormed into his maiden Grand Slam semi-final as he halted the dream run of the surprise package Ben Shelton in the Australian Open quarterfinal clash on Wednesday (January 25). Paul overcame Shelton with a scoreline of 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 5-7 6-4 in the Men's singles clash at Rod Laver Arena.
World number 35 Paul proved his prowess in longer exchanges between the two big-serving Americans, though Shelton briefly troubled the 25-year-old when he claimed the third set after going a break down. Having found an immediate break to quell Shelton's momentum, Paul dominated on serve in the fourth set to become the first American man to reach the Australian Open semi-finals since Andy Roddick in 2009.
Having teed up a meeting with either Novak Djokovic or Andrey Rublev, Paul said: "Yesterday when I was doing a couple of interviews, they asked how it felt to be in the quarter-finals, and I was like, 'semi-finals sounds a little better'.
"I'm pumped to be there and really excited for whoever I play. Making it to the second week of a slam is everyone's dream when they start playing tennis. So I can't believe I'm here right now."
Shining bright @TommyPaul1 is through to his first Grand Slam semi-final after knocking out Shelton 7-6(6) 6-3 5-7 6-4.@AustralianOpen | #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/6i5QGC4eVS
— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 25, 2023
Data slam: Paul dominates on serve
Having originally appeared to be on course for a straight-sets triumph, Paul could have lost his way when Shelton claimed the third set, but the 25-year-old was outstanding on serve to see it through.
Paul won all 17 of his first-serve points in the final set, winning 86 per cent throughout the match as his quality told.
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Paul – 7/3
Shelton – 24/6
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Paul – 43/26
Shelton – 42/50
BREAK POINTS WON
Paul – 3/15
Shelton – 2/4
Meanwhle, World no.5 Aryna Sabalenka kept her hopes of a maiden Grand Slam title alive after thrashing Donna Vekic in straight sets in their women's singles quarterfinal clash. The fifth seed, who has lost three major semi-finals, progressed to a last-four date with Poland's Magda Linette, after triumphing 6-3, 6-2 over the unseeded 26-year-old Croatian in one hour and 47 minutes.
With OPTA inputs…
