[Sport] Tommy Paul beats Ben Shelton in all-American clash to reach Australian Open semifinals

[REFLX]

Tommy Paul beat fellow American Ben Shelton in a hard-fought match at the Australian Open to reach the first grand slam semifinal of his career.

Few would have expected either of these men to reach the quarterfinal stage in Melbourne, but Paul’s experience told as he won 7-6 6-3 5-7 6-4 to set up a semifinal clash against either nine-time winner Novak Djokovic or world No. 6 Andrey Rublev.

Paul, currently ranked No. 35 in the world, is now guaranteed to climb into the world’s top 20 for the first time in his career and becomes the first American man to reach the last four of the Australian Open since Andy Roddick in 2009.

“This is my first time on this court [Rod Laver Arena], my first in the quarterfinals of a slam,” the 25-year-old Paul said after the match. “It is also Ben Shelton’s first time leaving the States, so I think he’s had a pretty good tournament as well.

“Making it to the second weekend of a slam is everyone’s dream when they start playing tennis, so I can’t believe I’m here right now.”

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