Paul 'grinding' to reclaim repossessed truck and set up Sinner semi-final

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Tommy Paul says he has been "grinding" to reclaim his repossessed truck after reaching the semi-finals of the Italian Open.

The American 11th seed beat Poland's Hubert Hurkacz 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 to secure a place in the last four in Rome for the second consecutive year.

The 27-year-old prevailed despite telling reporters he had endured a "stressful week" off the court.

"On court everything has been going pretty well," said Paul. "Off court, a little bit of a stressful week.

"I got my truck repossessed. I missed a couple of 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.

"I'm excited to get it back. I had to win a couple of matches so I could pay that off."

Paul said he had to pay $1,000 (£752) to secure the vehicle's return.

The former Australian Open semi-finalist is already guaranteed prize money of about £245,000 this fortnight.

He will face world number one Jannik Sinner in the last four on Friday.

Italian Sinner produced his best performance since returning from a three-month doping ban to thrash Casper Ruud 6-0 6-1.

The 23-year-old combined power with several deft touches to wrap up victory in one hour and three minutes.

Ruud arrived in Rome in fine form following his victory at the Madrid Open, but was unable to contend with the home favourite in the opening set.

The Norwegian world number seven fared slightly better in the second and was warmly applauded by the crowd after holding serve in the third game to end the onslaught.

But Sinner quickly regained his dominance and claimed the next four games to seal a 25th consecutive victory - a streak that was interrupted by the three-month suspension he agreed with the World Anti Doping Agency (Wada).

"I was feeling great on court today," Sinner, who was playing in his fourth match since returning from suspension, told Sky Sports.

"My goal was to try to understand where my level is at this tournament and it has raised day by day.

"These are positive signs for me. Everything can change in one day but everything worked well for me. I was serving well and moved great on the court."

Sinner is bidding to end a 49-year wait for an Italian winner of the men's tournament in Rome, with Adriano Panatta the last home champion in 1976.

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