Tommy Paul, one more 'Roman': "Here I feel at home"

The men's semifinals of the Masters 1000 in Rome 2025 are taking shape after Tommy Paul secured his spot in the penultimate round with a victory this afternoon. The American booked his place in the next round by defeating Polish player Hubert Hurkacz, twelve months after a similar encounter at the same stage. Although the match was different from what we saw last year, the outcome has led the same man to the following stage. Listening to the world No.12's words helps us understand that winning a match in straight sets doesn't necessarily mean the evening was easy.

“It's been crazy, I'm not quite sure what happened, it feels like we were both returning incredibly well in that first set, even though both of us would have liked to be a bit more solid with our first serves,” analyzed Paul in the TennisTV microphones regarding a first act where half of the games were breaks. “What we did was constantly put pressure on each other every time we had to serve, but it's not pleasant when you want to build with your serve and you find yourself unable, thankfully things changed in the second set. There I could gain an advantage from the early games,” he explained after his 7-6, 6-3 triumph.

The fact is that Tommy is once again reaching important stages in the Rome semifinals, just like in 2024. His name is not particularly linked to clay courts, and even the Rome conditions didn't seem optimal initially, but these past two years have completely changed that failed intuition... although the player himself may not be able to explain it well. “I can't explain the reasons, all I can say is that every time I come to play this tournament, I feel at home. The conditions and courts suit my game perfectly, this is what makes me really comfortable when competing. The result is what you're seeing, a high level of tennis throughout this week,” he emphasized.

ANTICIPATED CLASH IN SEMIFINALS

Does anyone in the room remember what happened around this time last year? In that edition, Tommy Paul defeated Hurkacz in the quarterfinals – he seems to handle this task quite well – only to surrender in the semifinals to a very inspired Nico Jarry. Well, it doesn't seem like this time fate will paint a much better picture. Jannik Sinner or Casper Ruud, from the match scheduled for tonight at 7:00 p.m., will emerge as the opponent for the American in tomorrow's match, one where he will need to summon all the superpowers from his racket if he wants to stand a chance.

“I want to serve better, of course. I don't want to reveal all my cards, but basically I'll need to do everything a little better than I've been doing,” stated Tommy, who holds an unfavorable head-to-head record of 1-3 against the Italian and 2-3 against the Norwegian. Another aspect at stake will be his return to the top 10, a goal he will only achieve with a victory and a spot in the grand final.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Tommy Paul, un ‘romano’ más: “Aquí me siento como en casa”