In September, Tommy Paul said that “ultimately the goal, to go really, really deep in the Slams, try and win big tournaments.”
Now he has reached into the semis at the Australian Open. A couple of years ago, he was decent, but he was not able to win regularly over the very good players. But in Melbourne, he won five in a row, beating Ben Shelton, Roberto Bastista Agut, Jenson Brooksby, Alejandro Davidovich Kokina and Jan Struff. When Paul was playing at the Davis Cups, in Glasgow, he beat Dan Evans 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. “We had a war there, really high level,” he said.
He is rising fast.
Paul will face the 21-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic. Paul will give it a go. But, to beat him, the American is going to have to be super aggressive, just like the Serbian.
The 25-year-old said that last year, he wasn’t playing well consistently. In 2021, he could become angry, and then he lost quite a bit.
“I get pissed,” he said with a laugh. “I’m really competitive. I’m not, like, super up or down. I try to stay pretty levelheaded. But I’m super competitive. It’s all a game, you know? If you are practicing something, you feel like you perfected something in practice, you’re excited, man. If you love the game, it’s exciting.
“Obviously I think you could ask every tennis player, they’ll have like a love-hate relationship with tennis because it’s not always the most fun being away from home, traveling all the time. I’ve been really enjoying my time on court. I think I’ve kind of figured out like a pretty good system to keep myself there.”
Paul has improved his serve and now with his forehand and his backhand, he can be steady. When he is sets up, then he can attack and try to put it away. However, it took him a while to really understand how he plays.
“There hasn’t been one jump at all. It’s just been like super steady on the way up.” Paul said. “It hasn’t been like a semifinal of a Slam run or anything. That’s ultimately the goal, to go really, really deep in the Slams, try and win big tournaments. Last year was a tough one. [But] I’m having a lot of fun on court. That has a lot to do with it. If you’re enjoying it, that makes a huge difference.”
In the quarterfinal two days ago, he edged Shelton, 7-6(8-6) 6-3 5-7 6-4. It was close, but he pushed him back.
But how can he stun Djokovic, who just crushed Andrey Rublev 6-1 6-2 6-4? That was very surprising, not that he beat him, but he destroyed him. The Serb was playing as well as he can. Over the past year, he has some odd matches. He knows, though, if he can dominate with his famed backhand, his first serve and return, he will beat Paul.
It is almost going without much media notice that Stefanos Tsitsipas can play great. Last year, he struggled against the top players. However, the Greek can be so steady, and he can move it around with a lot of spin. He can also try to nail the lines and attack. But mentally, you never know how well he will play, but at least he pushed into the semis. When he is feeling fantastic, then for sure, he can win a Slam.
But hold on. First he has to face Karen Khachanov. Once again, the Russian played smart. He overcame Sebastian Korda, who had to retire down 7-6(5), 6-3, 3-0. The 26-year old Khachanov has played five times, against Tsitsipas, and he has lost each time. Whatever he is going to do, he must change it up. He certainly can swing very hard, but he also has to find a way into the net, and hit his forehand deep, crosscourt and down the line.
As he said: “Not everything was going as smoothly, but, you know, look, I always believed in myself and my abilities, and what I need to do in order to be at my best.”