Tommy Paul Reveals He’s Grinding in Rome to Get Beloved ‘Baby’ Back Ahead of Semifinal Clash with Jannik Sinner

Tommy Paul, the second American to reach consecutive Italian Open semifinals, is 1-3 in the head-to-head record over Jannik Sinner.

Tommy Paul Reveals He’s Grinding in Rome to Get Beloved ‘Baby’ Back Ahead of Semifinal Clash with Jannik Sinner

Tommy Paul, Jannik Sinner (Image via X/The Tennis Letter, Tennis Channel)

Tommy Paul is putting up fights in Rome because of his beloved “baby“- his Ford F-150. Paul is dealing with financial issues and at the Italian Open, he is eyeing the $1,103,479 prize money to get his repossessed truck back.

Paul has become the first American man to progress to back-to-back Rome Open semifinals since Pete Sampras (1993-1994). In the quarterfinals, he knocked out Polish ace Hubert Hurkacz 7-6(4), 6-3, and set up a clash with World No.1 Jannik Sinner in the last four.

Paul has not yet lifted a title this year and at the Italian Masters, he reached his second semifinal in a tournament of ATP 500 and above category, following the Dallas Open. The World No.12 so far has earned $836,001 on the tour this season. Later at the press conference, he admitted that he is facing financial problems.

Off-court, a little bit of a stressful week. I got my truck repossessed. I missed a couple of payments and they took my truck from my house this week. I've been grinding to get my truck back. If you know me, that's my baby. Yeah, really grinding to get that back.

After taking a 3-1 head-to-head lead over the World No.31, Paul has improved his win-loss record in Rome to 9-4. The 27-year-old will reach the top 10 if he progresses to the summit clash.

Paul, the winner of two titles last year, hasn’t yet clinched a trophy since winning the Stockholm Open by beating Grigor Dimitrov. In the last European clay-court event last year, Paul lost the match to eventual winner-up Nicolas Jarry.

Tommy Paul makes his feelings known on Jannik Sinner ahead of their semifinal clash

Tommy Paul will be meeting Jannik Sinner for the fifth time in his career. In their previous four matches, the American was defeated three times, including in their first clay-court match at the 2022 Madrid Open.

Jannik Sinner
Jannik Sinner (Image via X/GamebredSports)

The Italian Open is Sinner’s second tournament of the season as he served his doping ban for three months after defending his Australian Open title by beating Alexander Zverev. In spite of not having actual match practice, Sinner has not yet dropped a set.

Sinner in fact produced his best result in the tournament when he knocked out reigning Madrid Open champion Casper Ruud with a 6-0, 6-1 scoreline in the quarterfinals. Ahead of the semifinal clash, Paul, at the press conference stated that Sinner is playing a high level of tennis despite the three-month absence:

It’s as if he hasn’t been away for any time. Certainly, he doesn’t seem rusty at all. Already in his first match, he showed a good level and it seems like he keeps improving. His great virtue is not only hitting the ball harder and more consistently than others, but he is capable of generating a lot of power out of nowhere.

Sinner reached the last four stage of his home tournament for the first time as before his year, he lost the quarterfinal against Stefanos Tsitsipas in 2022. He did not play in the tournament last year due to an injury.

No one on the tour has been successful in beating Sinner since he lost the China Open final to Carlos Alcaraz in October last year. Sinner is on a 25-match winning streak and has won 11 consecutive matches in straight sets against the top 10.

He could set up a blockbuster clash with Alcaraz if both him and the four-time Grand Slam champion progress to the championship match. Sinner trails 4-6 in the head-to-head encounter against Alcaraz and had lost the three matches in official events they played last year.

Also read: “Frustrated,” Jack Draper Explains the Reasons for His Loss to Carlos Alcaraz in Rome