Paul, Pegula leads US charge into Adelaide semis

On By Littum

Top seed Tommy Paul, has ended Rinky Hijikata’s brilliant run at The Drive.

The American’s 6-3 6-4 win sealed Paul’s 15th semi-final at tour level and his first since winning his fourth ATP title in Stockholm last October.

Paul was rock solid throughout, while Hijikata – a lucky loser at the ATP 250 tournament – ​​will rue his missed opportunities after failing to convert any of his four break point chances.

Hijikata will take considerable confidence from his quarter-final run, but Paul’s classy performance was a step above, with the American one lift his level from his previous match.

“Yesterday wasn’t the prettiest match, but I came out today and I raised my level a ton, I mean, I knew I had to,” Paul said.

“I saw Rinky play Goffin the other day and it was a very entertaining match. He played great there, so I knew I had to bring it.”

If Paul reaches the final, the 27-year-old will leapfrog Grigor Dimitrov and Stefanos Tsitsipas to become world no. 10, becoming the 38th American to break into the Top 10 since the inception of the ATP rankings in 1973.

He will next play Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, who downed another American, Marcos Giron, 7-6(3), 6-3.

Fifth-seeded Auger-Aliassime is excited for the challenge against a player approaching the top 10.

“It’s nice to compete with these guys again who are top 10 or close. I’m confident in my game, I’m playing good tennis and hopefully it will be good tomorrow,” he said.

Jessica Pegula was the only American seed to advance to the semifinals, with no. 1 seed leading 6-4 2-0 when compatriot Ashlyn Krueger withdrew from their quarter-final.

Emma Navarro, no. 2 seed, bowed out to world no. 26, Liudmila Samsonova, 6-4, 6-4.

In the battle for the Americans, the top seed Pegula played a good match against compatriot Krueger, who served well and took advantage of both of his chances for break points.

A grueling fourth-round match against Paula Badosa took its toll on Krueger, the American said, stopping in the third game of the second set.

“I knew she had a tough singles match yesterday, a great win. She’s played some great tennis, so I was happy to just stay out here in a match situation,” Pegula said of Krueger.

Pegula, one of 17 top-100 ranked American women and one of three in the world’s top 10, reflected on the strength of American tennis and her journey as a player.

“I remember when I wasn’t ranked that high, it always motivated me to see all the American girls that I played and grew up with, so I think we’ve done a really nice job,” she said.

“Also the men to motivate each other with this great depth we have in American tennis.”

Pegula will next play the winner of the quarter-final between Kazakh Yulia Putintseva and Diana Shnaider.

Compatriot Navarro, meanwhile, was overpowered by a magnificent Samsonova.

With a solid 16-5 career record in quarterfinal matches, Samsonova came out firing, hitting 16 winners to two from Navarro, who struggled to keep up with the 26-year-old’s intensity and raw power.

This is Samsonova’s seventh career win over a top 10 opponent, her first since 2023 after losing her last five such meetings, she reflected after the match.

“One of the best (wins) for sure, yes. I already had some match wins against the top 10, but not that many, so it’s very important for me.”