‘I’m Not Looking Back’: Paul Wants More After Australian Open Run

Andrew Patron

The fast-paced nature of the ATP Tour leaves little time to savour success. Just three weeks have passed since Tommy Paul's run to his maiden Grand Slam semi-final at the Australian Open, but moving on quickly has been no problem at all for the American.

“I’m not really looking back at it too much,” Paul told ATPTour.com when asked about how he is reflecting on his Melbourne run. “I’m kind of trying to look forward, you know? I’m pretty focused on this week and the rest of the year.”

While proud of becoming the first American man to reach an Australian Open semi-final since 2009, the 25-year-old is unwilling to let it define his season with so much tennis left to play.

“I think it’s pretty easy to put it behind you, because it’s not going to win me the next match that I play,” he said. “I’ve got to win the next match that I play anyway. The rest of the year is really important to me, and I want to keep getting better. I wasn’t perfect in Australia, and I want to be better than I was in Australia.”

That’s not to say Paul hasn’t taken the opportunity to relax away from the court. After guiding the United States to victory against Uzbekistan in the Davis Cup Qualifiers in the wake of his Melbourne exploits, he travelled to his girlfriend’s house in Connecticut to turn his attention to two off-court passions — horse-riding and his favourite NBA team, the Philadelphia 76ers.

“My girlfriend is a lot better at riding horses than I am,” said Paul. “She’s been trying to teach me. We just do trail rides, or I’m mostly doing lessons and she’s doing trail rides.”

His trip to Connecticut coincided with a visit to the Boston headquarters of his clothing sponsor. While there, the World No. 18 took the chance to watch the 76ers on the road against the Boston Celtics at the TD Garden.

“The timing couldn’t have worked better with the Sixers,” said Paul. “I’m a big Sixers fan. We got to sit on the floor, Sixers versus Celtics. Unfortunately, the Sixers did not win, but it was still a cool experience. It’s one of the most legendary arenas in sports, so to sit on the floor there was pretty cool.”

Paul got back to business in style on Thursday at his home tournament, the Delray Beach Open, with a 6-3, 6-4 opening victory against countryman Denis Kudla. Despite hitting a career-high No. 18 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings last Monday, that ability to refocus and reset will be crucial in his bid to rise further.

“Top 10 is a goal overall, but I think, right now, I’m still not Top 15,” said Paul. “So when I reach that, I’ll focus on Top 10. I think there’s a lot of sharpening of all the tools that I need to do for the rest of the season, and probably a lot of mental stuff that I want to work on. Just being more consistent on court and winning the matches that I’m supposed to win every time, showing up every match.”