Rome, May 15 (IANS) Tommy Paul continued his impressive form at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Thursday, as he surged into the last-four stage once again, becoming the first American to reach consecutive semifinals in Rome since Pete Sampras in 1993-94.

The 27-year-old achieved the feat by taming the big-hitting Hubert Hurkacz 7-6(4), 6-3 to reach consecutive semifinals at the Italian ATP Masters 1000 event. Paul edged Hurkacz in a topsy-turvy opening set that featured six breaks before expertly powering to a one-hour, 58-minute victory.

“Every time I come here, I feel at home,” said Paul, who improved to 9-4 in Rome, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. “The courts match up with my game really well. I feel comfortable out here, and I’ve been playing some good tennis this week,” he was quoted as saying by the ATP Tour on its website.

Paul had overcome Hurkacz in three sets at the same stage in Rome last year and resurrected that form to move past the Pole once more, improving to 3-1 in their ATP head-to-head series.

“Both of us were returning so well, obviously we would have liked to be hitting our spots better on serve,” Paul said of the first set. “We were keeping the pressure in our service games. I thought I regrouped pretty well in the breaker, and then into the second set.”

Paul is No. 12 in the ATP Live Rankings and would seal his return to the Top 10 if he reaches the championship match. He awaits the winner of Thursday evening’s clash between World No. 1 Jannik Sinner and Madrid champion Casper Ruud.

–IANS

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