Defending champion Frances Tiafoe has superior to the semi-finals of the US Males’s Clay Courtroom Championship in Houston with a 7-6 (10-8) 6-4 victory over Australia’s Jordan Thompson.
The 29-year-old Sydneysider has risen to a career-high world rating of 31 after spectacular outcomes to begin 2024, which included a win over Rafael Nadal in Brisbane and a event victory in Los Cabos.
Thompson fought for 2 hours earlier than succumbing to the third-seeded American, who was in a position to break the Australian No.2 late in each units.
“I believed it was a extremely good match tonight,” Tiafoe mentioned.
“First set was essential, actually, actually robust. He broke me there at 5-5, I performed a fantastic recreation to interrupt again. I used to be down within the tiebreak more often than not and bought out of there, and I performed a fairly good second set.
“It was an extended two-set match, however I am pleased to be within the semis right here as soon as once more.”
Tiafoe will meet Luciano Darderi in his 14th tour-level semi after the Italian beat Marcos Giron of the US, 6-0 6-4.
In different quarter-final motion on Saturday (AEDT), high seed Ben Shelton beat fellow American Brandon Nakashima 7-5 7-6 (11-9).
The 21-year-old Shelton superior to his fifth tour-level semi-final and improved to 17-1 towards gamers exterior of the highest 50 within the ATP Rankings because the ATP Masters 1000 in Toronto in August.
“Undoubtedly not a straightforward matchup at present with the way in which Brandon was serving and taking part in,” Shelton mentioned.
“He made issues actually issue and I used to be positively feeling the stress in that tiebreak. However I am actually pleased to get by means of.”
Shelton will face fourth-seeded Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry, final 12 months’s runner-up, within the closing 4.
Etcheverry led Michael Mmoh 6-3 0-1 when the American retired due to an harm. This would be the fourth ATP tour semi for Etcheverry, with all of them approaching clay.
With AAP.
