Tommy Paul has reached the Italian Open semi-finals for the second successive year.
The World number 12 has been playing some solid tennis since the circuit transitioned to the clay.
He reached the semi-finals in Houston, before a rampant Jack Draper ended Paul’s Madrid Open campaign in the fourth round.
The American then arrived in Rome and recaptured the spark that helped him reach the last four a year ago, and once again defeated Hubert Hurkacz to make the semi-finals.
Tommy Paul equals Pete Sampras statistic after latest Italian Open win
Tommy Paul dropped just one set on the way to reaching the Italian Open quarter-finals.
As he did a year ago, the 27-year-old took on Hurkacz, who reached the last eight of a tournament for just the second time this season.
There was little between the two players in a topsy-turvy first set that included multiple breaks of serve, before Paul prevailed in the tiebreak.
Paul took command of the second set and opened up a 3-0 lead, and maintained his advantage before sealing a 7-6, 6-3 victory.
“Every time I come here, I feel at home,” Paul said post-match. “The courts match up with my game really well. I feel comfortable out here and I’ve been playing some good tennis this week.”
This was Paul’s third successive win over Hurkacz and in the process he became the first American since Pete Sampras in 1993 and 1994 to reach back-to-back semi-finals at the Italian Open.
Who will Tommy Paul play next?
If Paul wants to reach the Italian Open final, he will have to defeat Casper Ruud or the World number one Jannik Sinner.
The Norwegian is in good form after arriving in Rome following his title run in Madrid, while Sinner is playing his first tournament since his three-month doping ban came to an end.
Paul has lost four of his six meetings against Ruud, including their only previous clay court meeting at the 2020 French Open.
Paul also has a losing record against Sinner, who has claimed three of their previous four matches.
This includes the one match they have played on clay, which came at the 2022 Madrid Open, where Sinner outlasted Paul 6-7(4) 7-6(4) 6-3.
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