Tommy Paul overcame Roberto Bautista Agut 6-2 4-6 6-2 7-5 in 3 hours and 19 minutes at the Australian Open on Margaret Court Arena to reach the Grand Slam quarter finals for the first time in his career.
Paul converted six of his fifteen break points and hit 58 winners to Bautista Agut’s 35 to clinch his 11 consecutive against Spanish players.
Paul converted on his fourth break point after five deuces in a marathon first game and held serve in a three-minute game to open up a 2-0 lead. After a trade of holds Paul earned a double break with a forehand winner in the fifth game to open up a 4-1 lead. The US player saved six break points in the final game to close out the first set 6-2 at deuce.
Paul broke serve in the fifth game of the second set to take a 3-2 lead. Bautista Agut pulled back on serve in the sixth game to draw level to 3-3. The Spaniard broke on his first set point in the tenth game to close out the second set 6-4.
Paul broke in the first game after a double fault from Bautista Agut. The Spanish player made 15 unforced errors and made two double faults on each of his two service games and Paul earned his second break in the seventh game to close out the third set 6-2.
Paul went down 0-30 as he was serving at 3-2 in the fourth set, but he was able to hold serve for 3-2. Both players went on serve until the 11th game when Paul sealed the win with another break.
The match-up between Paul and Shelton will be the first Grand Slam quarter final between two US players since 2007 when Andy Roddick beat Mardy Fish in Melbourne.
“It’s like every person’s dream when they start playing tennis to play the big matches at the Slams. I am really excited to get out there on Wednesday. We know there is going to be to be an American in the semifinals, so I am really excited about that”,said Paul.
“It was a really physical, tough match. Any time you play Bautista it’s going to be a war. So I was prepared for that match and I thought I executed really well today. It’s always fun playing on this court, I think it was my third time playing here and it’s always a blast”, said Tommy Paul.
Paul has improved his record to 5 wins in six matches in 2023 and reduced his head-to-head deficit against Bautista Agut to 2-3. The 25-year-old US player has risen seven spots to climb to world number 28 in the ATP Live Ranking. He made his breakthrough in 2022 when he beat Rafael Nadal to reach the quarter finals at the Paris Bercy Masters 1000 tournament.
“I have just been paying attention to the details a little bit more in practice on and off the court. I have a good team around me. I have a new management, so everything has been pretty good since switching to them. That’s been exciting. I have just been having a lot of fun out there. Every match has been fun. It’s hard to play bad when you are having fun”.
Paul set up a quarter final against his compatriot Ben Shelton, who beat his compatriot JJ Wolf in five sets. Sebastian Korda also reached the quarter final with his win over Hubert Hurkacz. Three US players have reached the quarter finals at the Australian Open for the first time since 2000 when Pete Sampras, André Agassi and Geoff Woodruff advanced to this stage of the tournament.
“I think Shelton was down two sets to one when I came on court, so I had no idea who I would play if I won, but I was able with either Shelton or Wolf. I am really happy to be playing an American in the quarters. There is going to be an American player in the semifinals for sure, so I am really excited for that, and hopefully you guys can come out and watch that one too. I am playing in the quarter finals in two days, but I am not satisfied. I am going to go out there, try and win the match. The semifinal sounds a lot better than the quarter final every day of the week”, said Paul.
