Paul reveals the key to his latest victory: "It has been a good move"

Mónica Barberán Munera | 8 Feb 2025 | 09.30

Tommy Paul at the ATP Dallas 2025. Photo: Getty

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The current champion of the ATP Dallas continues his run, as Tommy Paul managed to defeat his friend Reilly Opelka to reach the semifinals. The American is playing his first tournament as a Top 10 player (ranked 9th) and will finally face someone other than an American: Denis Shapovalov. Thus, the third seed maintains a positive record of 7-0 in Dallas, this being his second appearance.

In the quarterfinals, Tommy needed to stay very focused on his serve to hold his games against a highly efficient server like Opelka. "Not having break points after a couple of times where I was down 0-30 and really had to tighten up in those games means a lot. I'm happy with my serving performance, no doubt," confessed Paul after his victory (7-6 (3) 6-2). This was the first time he faced his close friend, which felt strange considering how many times they have crossed paths in tournaments.

"It's very rare. Whenever we tell that to someone, they can't believe it. We've basically played with the same schedule throughout our careers," said Tommy to Tennis Channel. "Reilly joined the tour a little earlier than me, although he was out for a while due to an injury. But, apart from that, we've played practically the same tournaments throughout our careers. We were very close to facing each other many times. It's been great to play against each other in a very important match here in the United States," he added.

The key against Opelka and his H2H with Shapovalov

The number 9 in the world is showing why he is so tough to beat on these surfaces, as the conditions suit his style of play very well. Additionally, the American delivered a great performance with his slice, the star of his game yesterday and crucial to trouble Opelka. "Before the match, we didn't talk about it at all. We didn't really think about the slice or anything, but then I went out there and thought, 'wow, my slice feels better than my backhand right now.' So, I started slicing a lot of balls. It was tough for him on these courts since they are quite fast and the balls don't bounce much. It was a good play for me today," he said.

Now, Tommy will face Shapovalov to reach the final, getting closer to defending the title. And what about his head-to-head record with the Canadian? Well, Paul holds a positive record of 2-1, with Denis having defeated him last time in Cincinnati in 2022. However, much time has passed since then, and both are at different stages in their careers. While Tommy has just entered the top 10 of the rankings for the first time, Shapovalov is still working on finding his form. However, he is feeling quite good in Dallas, where he defeated Taylor Fritz.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Paul y el secreto de su última victoria: "Ha sido una buena jugada"