Both players have enjoyed a solid start to the season and were looking to contour their good form during their first tournament on home soil in 2025.

The 90-minute contest was won by the World number nine who defeated his big-serving compatriot 7-6, 6-2 to keep his Dallas Open title defence alive.

Tommy Paul credits one key shot that helped him defeat Reilly Opelka at the Dallas Open

Many wondered how Tommy Paul would manage returning Reilly Opelka’s thunderous serves.

But the 26-year-old managed rather well, as he managed to claim 17 of 50 points off Opelka’s first serve, which is 34%.

As Opelka struggled to push Paul onto the back foot, the former Grand Slam sem-finalist opted to utilise his slice backhand more often.

The ball kept much lower on the faster surface which is not ideal for a player as tall as Opelka, and Paul revealed afterwards it was not part of his original gameplan.

“Before the matchup, we didn’t talk about it at all. We didn’t really think about slicing or anything,” Paul told Tennis Channel. “But then I got out there and I was like, ‘wow my slice is kind of feeling better than my backhand right now’.

“So I just started slicing a bunch. It was tough for him on these courts. They’re pretty quick through the court and they don’t bounce very much. It was a good play for me today.”

Returning Reilly Opelka’s serve is not an easy task for any player on the ATP Tour.

But Paul did an excellent job of neutralising his opponent’s serve and pushing him into uncomfortable positions on court.

Furthermore, Paul was solid behind his own serve, winning 83% of the points on his first serve and 63% behind the second.

“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 serve performance for sure,” said Paul, who plays Denis Shapovalov in the Dallas Open semi-finals.

“Getting his serve back in the court is pretty tough. The balls were moving pretty quick today. It felt quicker today than others. Maybe it’s just because I had Reilly serving to me.”

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