Photo credit: Internazionali BNL d'Italia Facebook
Racing right for a running forehand, Tommy Paul slid so far off the court, he could have picked a bouquet from the bed of front-row flowers.
Creativity on the run carried Paul past a hobbled Hubert Hurkacz 7-6(4), 6-3 into his second straight Rome semifinal.
Conquering the big-serving Hurkacz in a rematch of the 2024 Rome quarterfinals that was sloppy at times, Paul planted his place in American tennis history.
The 27-year-old Paul is the first American man to reach back-to-back- Rome semifinals since Hall of Famer Pistol Pete Sampras did it in 1993-94. Paul, who has cited Tim Henman as one of his tennis role models in the past, joins two of his other tennis heroes—Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick—as the only American men to reach multiple Rome semifinals this century.
Paul credits his Rome run to retrieving his wheels.
"I mean, it's been a great week for me on court so far," Paul told the media in Rome. "I feel like I've been getting a little bit better with every match. Obviously, like I said before, I would have liked to have served a little bit better today. On court everything has been going pretty well.
"Off court, a little bit of a stressful week. I got my truck repossessed. I missed a couple payments and they took my truck from my house this week. I've been grinding to get my truck back. If you know me, that's my baby. Yeah, really grinding to get that back."
Rome’s red clay suddenly carries a red, white and blue hue.
The 11th-seeded Paul reached his 18th Tour-level semifinal where he will face either world No. 1 and Italian home hero Jannik Sinner or Madrid champion Casper Ruud for a spot in Sunday’s final.
Two of the final four women still standing in Rome—Coco Gauff and Peyton Stearns—are American, giving Team USA the prospect of a potential men’s and women’s finalists at the Foro Italico.
Paul showed grit, agility and deeper desire on the dirt today against a gimpy Hurkacz. Next, Paul will play for a maiden Rome final—on Sunday when he celebrates his 28th birthday—as well as a return to the Top 10.
It’s Paul’s fourth semifinal of the season and his fourth ATP Masters 1000 semifinal as he plays for a maiden Masters final.
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Wearing a right knee brace, Hurkacz couldn’t find his first serve at the outset, was wincing at times after misses and saw Paul pick apart his second delivery for much of this match. Paul won 19 of 27 points played on the Pole’s second serve, broke serve four times and drained 48 unforced errors from Hurkacz.
It was an odd match with shifts in momentum and unlikely errors.
Hurkacz was struggling trying to curl his forehand down the line inside the sideline. The Pole sailed a forehand to face break point for the third time in his fourth service game. When Hurkacz netted a backhand, Paul broke for 4-3.
The 6’5” Pole pounded his fifth ace down the T holding for 6-5. Paul held at 30 to force the first-set tiebreaker.
After the pair combined for six service breaks in 12 games, the server controlled the breaker.
AO quarterfinalist Paul, who had been net averse much of the match, pulled off the surprise serve-and-volley to edge ahead 4-3.
Then Hurkacz blinked.
The 30th seed spit up his second double fault of the set, ceding the mini break and a 5-3 lead. When Hurkacz sent a backhand deep, Paul earned set points.
Hitting a second serve in the middle of the box, Paul caught a break when Hurkacz hit a forehand return into the center of the net. Paul closed a topsy-turvy 76-minute opener winning five of the final six points.
Though Hurkacz did good work on first serve and at net, Paul won 15 of 20 points played on the Pole’s second serve. Relying on his quick court coverage and shot variety, Paul drew 31 unforced errors from Hurkcaz, 15 more than the American hit.
Bidding to become the first Polish men’s semifinalist in Rome history, Hurkacz needed to reset after a tough tiebreaker. Hurkacz earned break point to open, but Paul erased and held.
Typically an immaculate ball striker, Hurkacz struggled to find net clearance and his second serve struggles continued. When the former world No. 6 pasted a backhand into net, Paul scored his fourth break of the day for a 2-0 second-set lead.
Exuding more energy than his opponent, Paul stamped a strong hold at 15 for 3-0.
“Keep believing! Come on! Vamos!” two-time Olympic gold-medal champion and Hurkacz coach Nicolas Massu exhorted his charge. Hurkacz, who was looking a little gimpy or weary or both, slid an ace that helped him hold in the fourth game.
The 2021 Wimbledon semifinalist Hurkacz can command matches on serve when he’s fully fit, but looked clearly compromised today.
Playing higher-percentage tennis, Paul slid the side serve to displace his opponent then drilled one final forehand down the line to close in one hour, 58 minutes.
White it wasn’t a vintage T-Pain performance, Paul played critical points with more precision. Paul won eight of nine trips to net today and will likely need to use employ his net game more expansively to topple either home hero Sinner, who is undefeated in 2025, or the red-hot Ruud.