Tommy Paul slices his way past Reilly Opelka in "super weird" overdue first ATP meeting at Dallas Open

FRISCO, Texas—Reilly Opelka and Tommy Paul grew up training together, roomed together in junior dorms, even shared a house together as established pros.

Oddly, despite playing more than 500 combined tour-level contests, the two hadn’t crossed paths on a match court until Friday’s Dallas Open quarterfinals.

Reigning champion Paul earned the evening's bragging rights over Opelka, the 2022 title holder, after breaking for a second time to clinch a 7-6 (3), 6-2 victory.

“Super weird. Whenever we tell someone that, they can’t believe it. We’ve played basically the same schedule our whole careers,” Paul said on Tennis Channel.

“He came on tour a little bit before me and he was obviously out for a while wth injury. But other than that, we’ve played pretty much the same tournaments our whole career. We were so close to playing each other so many times. It was cool to play each other in a pretty big match here in the states, too.”

It took some time to settle in, as 12 minutes went by before each player successfully put a hold on the scoreboard. The third seed eventually called an audible when his normally reliable two-handed backhand wasn’t firing at his expected level, an adjustment that led to Paul claiming 17 of 50 points off Opelka’s first serve.

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

“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.

We didn’t really think about slicing or anything. But then I got out there and I was like, ‘wow my slice is kind of feeling better than my backhand right now.’ Tommy Paul

Dallas Mavericks superstar Klay Thompson was among those who made the trip out to Ford Center at The Star to see Paul advance.

Paul has now eliminated three countrymen en route to the last four, having previously defeated Jenson Brooksby and Ethan Quinn in deciding sets. When he lifted the trophy last year, the event was an ATP 250 held at Southern Methodist University. Dallas is the first of three tour stops celebrating upgraded 500-level status in 2025.

“The vibes are very different here than the last spot,” commented Paul. “We try and approach everything the exact same.”

The 27-year-old is aiming to retain an ATP title for the first time in his career. Dallas marks the first of three opportunities for Paul to achieve the feat.

Denis Shapovalov looks to put an end to that bid here. The left-hander followed up his electric late-night win over world No. 4 Taylor Fritz by pulling away from sixth seed Tomas Machac, 7-6 (5), 6-0.

Shapovalov is seeking his biggest career crown to date, having won his second 250 title last November in Belgrade. He is 1-2 agaisnt Paul and all three of those encounters went the distance.