Before the Australian Open, 25-year-old Tommy Paul had never progressed beyond the 4th round at a grand slam tournament. So the American experienced a tennis fairy tale in Melbourne, but it did not have a happy ending.
However, Paul did manage to make life miserable for tournament favorite Novak Djokovic in the 1st set. He seemed to be on his way to an easy set win, but the American fought back from a 5-1 deficit to 5-5.
However, it did not come to a tiebreak, because the Serbian’s experience came to the fore in the 12th game. Paul had to serve to force a tiebreak, but Djokovic struck at the right time and took the 1st set with another break.
The fact that the 9-time winner in Melbourne still ran with set 1 was a blow to Paul and – insofar as that was still necessary – a boost to Djokovic’s self-confidence.
The Serb was now completely loose and Paul was hanging in the ropes. The American was able to win 3 more games in the remainder of the match and after almost 2.5 hours it was over for Paul.
Novak Djokovic will reach the final of the Australian Open for the 10th time in his career on Sunday. In it he competes against the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas. If the Serbian wins, he will equal Rafael Nadal’s record with 22 grand slam titles.
