Tommy Paul might not have snagged a title yet this season, but he’s definitely found a powerful motivator at the Italian Open. After a standout 2024 with three titles- Dallas, Queen’s Club, and Stockholm- his 2025 has been a rollercoaster. He kicked off strong, reaching the Australian Open quarters and Dallas semis, but then hit some rough patches with early losses in Mexico, Indian Wells, and Miami. Still, he bounced back with a semifinal in Houston before another early exit in Madrid. Coming into Rome, he really stepped up, making the semis again. What’s driving him this time?

On Friday, the American 11th seed cruised past Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, booking his spot in the Rome semifinals for the second year in a row. However, the 27-year-old revealed he’s going through a hard time off the court in his post-match press conference. He said, via The Tennis Letter, “On court everything has been going pretty well. Off court, a little bit of a stressful week. I got my truck repossessed. I missed a couple payments and they took my truck from my house this week. I’ve been grinding to get my truck back. If you know me, that’s my baby. Yeah, really grinding to get that back.”

Talking about being far from home and his beloved Ford F-150 in Boca Raton, Florida, Paul said, “I’m excited to get it back. I had to win a couple of matches so I could pay that off.” He paid $1,000 to reclaim the truck and has already secured about £245,000 in prize money this fortnight. But facing Jannik Sinner next is a tough challenge.

One that prompted former World No.1 Jennifer Capriati- an American WTA legend who won the Australian Open (2001 and 2002) and the 2001 French Open before retiring in 2004- replied under The Tennis Letter’s tweet, “Maybe someone needs to tell him they are taking his house before his match against Sinner if he needs extra motivation.” With Sinner’s current form, Paul might just need that extra push!

On Thursday, the Italian star put on his best show since coming back from a three-month doping ban, crushing Casper Ruud 6-0, 6-1 in just over an hour. Sinner mixed raw power with some smooth touches, leaving Ruud-fresh off his Madrid Open win and ranked No.7-struggling right from the start. Ruud found a bit of rhythm in the second set and got cheers when he finally held serve, but Sinner was clearly playing on a different level.

Even when talking about the toughest part of facing the Italian, Paul said that even after being off the Tour for three months due to suspension, Jannik Sinner hasn’t looked “rusty” one bit. “Already in his first match, he showed a good level, and it seems like he keeps improving.” The American praised Sinner’s game, saying his biggest strength isn’t just hitting harder and more consistently than most, but also “he is capable of generating a lot of power out of nowhere.” The American didn’t hold back, calling him the “best hitter” on the Tour. They hold a current H2H at 3-1 with Sinner in the lead.

But Paul hasn’t been slacking either. After cruising past Roberto Bautista Agut in his opener, he battled through a thrilling three-setter against Tomas Machac to reach the last 16. Then, he notched his first career win over Alex de Minaur after five prior losses.

Now, with a straight-sets win over Hubert Hurkacz, Paul became the first American man to reach consecutive semi-finals in Rome since Pete Sampras in 1993-94. The big question: can he topple Sinner? Tennis legends Andre Agassi and Jim Courier might know just how he can!

Former pros give their take on what Paul needs to win against Sinner

On May 16, the former ATP legens joined Tennis Channel Live to break down Tommy Paul’s chances against Jannik Sinner. They agreed it would take a monumental effort to topple the Italian, especially after Sinner’s dominant win over Casper Ruud. Courier kicked things off, saying, “It’s going to be a night match which I think is going to slow things down. That makes it harder for Tommy to do what he can to offset the speed of shot coming. Tommy is going to have to get to net, for me that is the only chance he has. Sinner just hasn’t played a bad match.” He added, “I can’t remember the last time Sinner has played a bad match and remotely threatened to beat himself. I certainly don’t expect him to in those cooler conditions.”

It’s true, Sinner is yet to lose a match this season. He started strong by clinching the Australian Open title, then faced a brief pause due to suspension. Many wondered if he could regain momentum, but he answered with a crushing win over the 2025 Madrid Open champion in Rome’s quarterfinals. That victory marked his 11th consecutive win against Top 10 opponents without dropping a set-simply staggering!

Agassi chimed in with his take: “Typically heavier means the person who is going to do most the dictating is going to have the advantage. He is doing the dictating with RPM’s and pace. I agree with you Jim [about Tommy] getting in, but trying to make something happen early in the point.” Both legends see Paul’s best shot as being aggressive and rushing the net to disrupt Sinner’s rhythm.

The last time Paul and Sinner faced off was at the 2024 US Open Round of 16, where Sinner came out on top. This will be their second meeting on clay, after Sinner beat Paul at the 2022 Madrid Masters Round of 64. With Paul’s truck- and as Jennifer Capriati joked, his house- on the line, could he pull off a surprise upset? Drop your thoughts in the comments below!