Monfils reaches Mallorca SFs, Jubb saves MP to upset Shelton

Playing in his first grass tournament since Wimbledon in 2021, Gael Monfils has notched three wins to advance to the semi-finals at the Mallorca Championships presented by Waterdrop. On Thursday, the seventh-seeded Frenchman beat Roberto Bautista Agut 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 to reach his second semi-final of the 2024 season (Doha).

"Very tough. Roberto is a big warrior," Monfils said after improving to 5-1 in the pair's Lexus ATP Head2Head. "Even in the second set when he came back, I was up a break at 4-3, then he played really good, really solid. And then at the end, you could see the nerves were there. The crowd was behind both of us, so it was a big battle."

Monfils is bidding to reach a tour-level final for the 20th consecutive year, a streak that would match Roger Federer's record. He will face fourth seed Alejandro Tabilo, a 6-4, 6-4 winner against #NextGenATP star Jakub Mensik, for a place in the title match.

Each of the 37-year-old Monfils' three Mallorca wins have come against veteran opponents in their 30s: Dominic Thiem (30), Roberto Carballes Baena (31) and Bautistas Agut (36). He has hit a combined 37 aces in those three matches, according to Infosys ATP Stats, matching his age. Against Bautista Agut, Monfils saved three of nine break points and won 77 per cent of his first-serve points.

Prior to this week, the Frenchman had not reached the quarter-final stage of a grass event since he progressed to the Antalya semi-finals in 2018.

Monfils' next opponent, Tabilo, is through to his seventh tour-level semi-final and his fifth of 2024. He is the first Chilean man to reach a tour-level semi-final on grass since Jaime Fillol Sr. at Nottingham in 1977. Tabilo is also the only South American to make a grass quarter-final this year.

British qualifier Paul Jubb earned the biggest win of his career, upsetting World No. 14 Ben Shelton 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(8) after converting his seventh match point. The top-seeded American had a match point on serve at 8/7 in the third-set tie-break before Jubb tallied three consecutive points and secured his first Top 20 victory.

“It just kept getting better and better throughout the match. I was thriving out here tonight,” Jubb said. “Super, super happy. This is obviously huge for me. Last year was so tough, injured most of the year. I’ve been working very, very hard to get back to this point.”

In a clash of former NCAA singles champions, Jubb, who won the collegiate crown in 2019 while competing for the University of South Carolina, held 18 break chances, converting three of them, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

Jubb had three match points on return at 6-5 in the decider, but quickly rebounded, eventually booking his place in his first tour-level semi-final. The 24-year-old entered the week 0-4 in ATP Tour main-draw matches. He is up 88 spots to No. 201 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.

Up next for Jubb is Austrian Sebastian Ofner, who defeated Alex Michelsen 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.