ROME, May 15: Tommy Paul continued his impressive form at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Thursday, when he surged back into the last four in Rome.
The 27-year-old tamed a big-hitting Hubert Hurkacz 7-6(4), 6-3 to reach consecutive semi-finals at the Italian ATP Masters 1000 event. Paul edged Hurkacz in a topsy-turvy opening set that featured six breaks before expertly powering to a one-hour, 58-minute victory.
“Every time I come here, I feel at home,” said Paul, who improved to 9-4 in Rome, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.
“The courts match up with my game really well. I feel comfortable out here and I’ve been playing some good tennis this week.”
Paul had overcome Hurkacz in three sets at the same stage in Rome last year, and resurrected that form to move past the Pole once more, improving to 3-1 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.
With his victory, Paul became the first American man to reach consecutive semi-finals in Rome since Pete Sampras in 1993-94.
Paul is No. 12 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, and would seal his return to the Top 10 if he reaches the championship match.
MUSETTI MASTERS ZVEREV, SETS DATE WITH ALCARAZ
Lorenzo Musetti delivered an inspired performance and a shotmaking masterclass to oust defending champion Alexander Zverev on Wednesday at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.
The Italian relied on his home crowd, lifting his level as they raised their support, en route to a 7-6(1), 6-4 victory, his second win against a Top 2 player in the PIF ATP Rankings.
In a bid to keep the second seed off balance, Musetti played 20 drop shots, winning 15, throughout the hard fought, two-hour, 15-minute battle which featured many absorbing and physically draining points.
Excitement spilled over throughout the Foro Italico as fans watched the evening battle, often ‘shushing’ one another mid-rally.
The 23-year-old remarkably fought off three consecutive set points on return at 5-4, 40/0 in the first set and saved another set point later that game.
Musetti built momentum, winning 11 of 12 points through 5/0 in the opening-set tie-break.
Musetti played with variety, forcing Zverev to constantly adjust and preventing him from seeing the same ball twice.
The eighth seed was especially effective with his forehand drop shot, which won him nine points alone in the opening set, including back-to-back points in the tie-break.
Musetti will next look to avenge his Monte-Carlo final loss to third seed Carlos Alcaraz, who leads their Lexus ATP Head2Head series 4-1.\
ZHENG OUSTS SABALENKA
Zheng Qinwen earned her first victory over top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 6-3 to set up an Italian Open semifinal match against Coco Gauff.
The 22-year-old Zheng, the Olympic champion from China, had lost all six previous matches against Sabalenka. The eighth-ranked Zheng saved all five break points she faced and broke Sabalenka’s serve three times to reach the last four.Rome is the last big warmup before the French Open starts on May 25. (Agencies)
