For the third straight match in his Dallas Open title defence, Tommy Paul knocked out a countryman to progress at the newly upgraded ATP 500. After three-set wins against Jenson Brooksby and Ethan Quinn to open his campaign, the third seed defeated his good friend Reilly Opelka 7-6(3), 6-2 in Friday's quarter-finals.
Paul is now 17-5 on home soil since the start of 2024, including seven wins in Dallas. In his first tournament as a Top 10 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, the World No. 9 is through to his 16th tour-level semi-final (7-8) and his fourth on indoor hard courts. Paul won the title in each of his four previous indoor runs to that stage, twice in Stockholm (2021, 2024) and last year in Dallas.
Running into the semi’s like… 🏃💨
— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 8, 2025
Tommy Paul defeats compatriot Opelka 7-6(3) 6-2 to secure his spot 🔥
@dalopen | #DALOpen pic.twitter.com/psI2palimM
In the first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting between the 27-year-old Americans, Paul's dominant serving performance allowed him to swing freely on return against the 6-foot-11 Opelka. Paul did not face a break point behind an 83 per cent (34/41) win rate on first serve, according to Infosys ATP Stats.
"Not to have break points after a couple of times I was down 0/30 and I really had to tighten up on those games... I'm happy with my serve performance for sure," said Paul.
Opelka fired nine aces but struggled to push his opponent in the rallies, with Paul using his slice to great effect throughout the 90-minute match — which was taken in by NBA star Klay Thompson of the Dallas Mavericks in the front row.
"Getting his serve back in the court is pretty tough," added Paul, who managed to return 34 per cent of Opelka's first serves. "The balls were moving pretty quick today. It felt quicker today than others. Maybe it's just because I had Reilly serving to me."
Paul will next meet Denis Shapovalov, who backed up his dramatic upset of Taylor Fritz with a 7-6(5), 6-0 victory against sixth seed Tomas Machac. The Canadian is through to his first semi-final above the ATP 250 level since 2022 (Vienna), with his three wins this week lifting him nine places to No. 45 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.
"I'm beating some really tough opponents. It's been a tough draw but I'm really happy and excited with the way I'm playing," said Shapovalov, who beat Miomir Kecmanovic in the opening round.
Machac forced Shapovalov to play from behind for much of the opening set, taking leads of 3/0 and 5/3 in the tie-break, but the Canadian turned on the style to run away with the second. In an entertaining finishing flurry, the 25-year-old showcased power, touch and composure to press home his advantage.
During the Dallas day session, second seed Casper Ruud and Jaume Munar advanced to the semis in the opposite half of the draw.
Ruud advanced past Yoshihito Nishioka via retirement, building a 7-5, 3-2 lead before a shoulder injury forced his opponent to stop play. Munar followed his upset of Ben Shelton with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win against eighth seed Matteo Arnaldi.
