Defending champion Paul sets up Shapovalov semi-final in Dallas

Defending Dallas Open champion Tommy Paul continued his quest to retain his crown after battling past fellow American Reilly Opelka to reach the semi-finals of the competition.

Paul knocked out a fellow compatriot for the third time in the tournament, having already beaten Jenson Brooksby and Ethan Quinn, adding another one to his list on Friday.

The third seed emerged a 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 victor against Opelka in a one-hour and 30 minute clash, improving to 17-5 on home soil since the start of 2024.

In his first tournament as a top 10 player in the ATP rankings, Paul is now through to his 16th tour-level semi-final (7-8) and his fourth on indoor hard courts.

Paul won the title in each of his four previous indoor runs to that stage, twice in Stockholm (2021 and 2024) and last year in Dallas.

In their first meeting against each other, Paul did not face a break point behind a first-serve success rate of 83%, something he cited as crucial to his victory over Opelka.

"Not to have break points after a couple of times I was down 0/30, and I really had to tighten up on those games... I'm happy with my service performance for sure," said Paul.

"Getting his serve back on the court is pretty tough," added Paul, who managed to return 34 per cent of Opelka's first serves.

"The balls were moving pretty quick today. It felt quicker today than others. Maybe it's just because I had Reilly serving to me."

Running into the semi’s like…Tommy Paul defeats compatriot Opelka 7-6(3) 6-2 to secure his spot@dalopen | #DALOpen pic.twitter.com/psI2palimM
— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 8, 2025

Paul will meet Denis Shapovalov in the final four, who backed up his dramatic upset of Taylor Fritz with a 7-6 (7-5) 6-0 victory against sixth seed Tomas Machac.

Shapovalov is through to his first semi-final above the ATP 250 level since 2022 (Vienna), with his three wins this week lifting him nine places to world number 45 in the rankings.

The Canadian came from a break down in the opening set to claim the tie-break before turning on the style in the second to cruise to victory in one hour and 14 minutes.

"I'm beating some really tough opponents. It's been a tough draw, but I'm really happy and excited with the way I'm playing," said Shapovalov.

Earlier in the day, Casper Ruud also booked his place in the final four after beating Yoshihito Nishioka 7-5 3-2, with the Japanese retiring from the game with a shoulder injury.

Ruud will take on surprise package Jaume Munar in the other semi-final after the Spaniard stunned eighth seed Matteo Arnaldi in a thrilling three-set encounter.

Munar claimed a brilliant 6-4 3-6 6-3 victory to follow his upset of Ben Shelton and will be hoping to add another victory over a top 20 opponent to his collection in the next round.