American Paul keeps rising
He beats compatriot Shelton in four sets and faces a semifinal against Djokovic.
MELBOURNE, Australia — Tommy Paul received a lot less attention than his younger, less-experienced, opponent, Ben Shelton, heading into their all-American quarterfinal at the Australian Open.
Perhaps that was a product of the fascination with the out-of-nowhere Shelton: Just 20, and less than a year after winning an NCAA title for the University of Florida, he was traveling outside of the United States for the first time and participating in his second Grand Slam tournament.
So the shouts heard most often from the Rod Laver Arena stands Wednesday were for one of the pair: “Let’s go, Benny! Let’s go!” or “Benny, Benny, Benny! Oi, Oi, Oi!” or “Go, Gators!”
“He had a pretty good trip,” Paul noted.
Paul’s story is a pretty good one too, and it is the one that will continue at Melbourne Park: The 25year-old was a star in the juniors and now is making good on that promise in the pros, using a 7-6 (6), 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 victory over Shelton to reach his first Grand Slam semifinal in his 14th appearance at a major.
“I like to think the last four years of my career has just been like steady steps moving up,” Paul said. “I mean, that’s what it’s felt like. I feel like hopefully 2023 is the year where I really make a big jump.”
Paul’s next opponent will be 21-time Grand Slam singles champion Novak Djokovic, who overwhelmed No. 5 seed Andrey Rublev 6-1, 6-2, 6-4. After dealing with a worrisome left hamstring in his first two matches, Djokovic has been on quite a roll: He has won his last 11 sets and dropped a total of 27 games in that span as he chases a 10th championship in Melbourne.
The other semifinal Friday pits Stefanos Tsitsipas and Karen Khachanov.
After extending his winning streak at the Australian Open to 26 matches, equaling Andre Agassi for the longest run there in the Open era, Djokovic looked ahead to facing Paul for the first time.
“I know how he plays. He’s been around for a few years. I watched him play quite a bit, especially during this tournament. He’s been playing probably tennis of his life,” Djokovic said. “Very explosive, very dynamic player.”