Unseeded American player Tommy Paul is through to his first grand slam semi final, having beaten Ben Shelton in four sets on Rod Laver Arena.
Paul has famous coach Brad Stine on his side, but on Wednesday the relationship didn’t exactly go to plan for the pair.
Paul had already broken young Shelton in the fourth set and had another break point, but was struggling to decide where to stand for the serve.
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But after securing the 7-6 (8-6), 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 victory, he revealed how he instantly regretted seeking advice from his player’s box.
“I had trouble all day on break points, big points, with Ben, he was serving really well,” Paul said to John Fiztgerald in his on-court interview afterwards.
“I didn’t know where to lean. So I finally went to my coach and was like ‘where am I going?’.
“He was like ‘what?’, and I’m like ‘where am I going?’, and then I think when I said it a bit louder, Ben heard it, (Stine signalled) ‘T’, so I went ‘T’ and then Ben served wide, ace.”
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Fitzgerald then revealed Stine had also appeared on the arena’s big screen when doing the “T” sign, so everyone could see it.
Paul, 25, was nevertheless rapt to get the win in what was his first time playing on Rod Laver Arena.
Match Highlights: Ben Shelton v Tommy Paul
His 20-year-old opponent Shelton had barely competed outside the US, and the countrymen shared a long embrace at the net after match point.
Paul has one ATP title to his name but has never been this deep into a grand slam before.
On Friday he has a shot at winning through to the tournament decider.
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