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 again, 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 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 will next play World No.1 Jannik Sinner, who treated his home fans to a tennis masterclass on Thursday evening, when he routed Casper Ruud 6-0, 6-1 with a stunning all-around quarter-final performance in Rome.

The top-seeded Italian struck the ball powerfully off both wings from the first point on Campo Centrale, and he barely looked back as he overwhelmed Madrid champion Ruud. After setting the tone by winning 16 of the first 18 points, Sinner maintained his level to race to a 64-minute triumph. The 23-year-old, who is playing his first tournament since January’s Australian Open, is bidding to become just the second Italian men’s singles champion in Rome after Adriano Panatta triumphed in 1976.

–IANS

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