Tommy Paul advanced to his third semi-final of 2023 with victory in a high-quality match against J.J. Wolf on Thursday at the Rothesay International in Eastbourne.
The second-seeded American edged his countryman 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(2) to improve to 3-2 this season in tour-level quarter-finals. A semi-finalist at the Australian Open and a finalist in Acapulco, Paul will continue his bid for his first title of the year against Frenchman Gregoire Barrere in Friday’s semis.
Paul and Wolf split six breaks of serve before the pair’s first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting was ultimately decided by Paul’s 5/0 start to the decisive tie-break.
“It was a tricky one. A lot of breaks, breaks back,” said Paul, who later added that grass is the most fun surface for him. “In the third, I thought I played a really good tie-break in the end. I thought the level throughout the whole match was good and I’m happy to get through.”
Barrere awaits in the semis after his 7-5, 7-6(2) victory against eighth seed Miomir Kecmanovic earlier in the day. The 29-year-old, who is through to his first ATP Tour semi-final, broke serve five times in 12 chances against the Serbian.
Fourth seed Francisco Cerundolo advanced to his first tour-level semi-final on grass Thursday with a 6-2, 6-3 win against Zhang Zhizhen.
“Super happy. I think I played quite [well] on this match on grass, so I’m really excited to be in the semi-finals, to play here on centre court,” Cerundolo said in his on-court interview. “It was amazing, a lot of people. Super happy to be in my first semi-final in a grass tournament, so really excited for tomorrow.”
Cerundolo is pursuing his first ATP Tour title of the season and second overall. All three of his previous tour-level finals, including one earlier this year in Lyon, have come on clay.
But the Argentine is starting to look more comfortable on the grass. Entering the week, he owned a 2-4 tour-level record on the surface. That has not shown in his two matches at the ATP 250, where he has made the last four without losing a set.
Cerundolo was opportunistic against Zhang, who was trying to secure his first ATP Tour crown this week. The Argentine converted all four of the break points he earned to advance after 69 minutes.
Next up for Cerundolo is a semi-final showdown with Mackenzie McDonald, who beat Mikael Ymer 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. McDoinald’s win backed up his upset of World No. 9 Taylor Fritz on Wednesday, the third Top 10 win of his career.