'Semis? Clay?' Shelton takes 5th MP to edge Nakashima in Houston

Ben Shelton extended his best clay-court run with a hard-fought victory against fellow American Brandon Nakashima on Friday at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Clay Court Championship.

Playing in his first clay quarter-final, the top seed converted on his fifth match point to secure a 7-5, 7-6(9) result. After wrapping up the win in two hours, 13 minutes, a relieved Shelton wrote "Semis?? Clay???" on the camera lens.

"Definitely not an easy matchup today with the way Brandon was serving and playing," said the No. 16 in the PIF ATP Rankings. "He made things really difficulty and I was definitely feeling the pressure in that tie-break. But I'm really happy to get through. I think the crowd helped me out a good bit today... I'm just really grateful being out here."

Through in two ✌️

Shelton makes the semis, taking out Nakashima 7-5 7-6(9) 💫@mensclaycourt | #USClay pic.twitter.com/7hciFlfLx7

— ATP Tour (@atptour) April 5, 2024

Shelton saved all seven break points against him, according to Infosys ATP Stats, to advance to his fifth tour-level semi-final and his third on home soil. In what was far from a typical clay-court match, both competitors attacked behind powerful serving and groundstrokes and frequently finished points at net. The difference was in a few key points at the end of both sets, with Shelton saving two set points in the second-set tie-break after leading 4/1.

By beating World No. 92 Nakashima in their first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting, the 21-year-old Shelton improved to 17-1 against players outside the Top 50 of the PIF ATP Rankings since the ATP Masters 1000 in Toronto last August. His next opponent will be a seasoned clay-courter in fourth seed and returning finalist Tomas Martin Etcheverry. The Argentine led Michael Mmoh 6-3, 0-1 when the American retired with an injury. Etcheverry is through to his fourth ATP Tour semi-final, all of which have come on clay. 

Defending champion Frances Tiafoe advanced to his second semi-final of the season with a 7-6(8), 6-4 win against sixth seed Jordan Thompson.

The American, who also reached the last four on home soil in Delray Beach, denied Thompson's attempt to serve out the opening set at 6-5 and saved a set point at 7/8 in the tie-break. He closed out the victory by winning the final three games in set two.

"I thought it was a really good match tonight," said Tiafoe, who saved four of five break points against him. "First set was crucial, really, really tough. He broke me there at 5-5, I played a great game to break back. I was down in the tie-break most of the time and got out of there, and I played a pretty good second set. It was a long two-set match, but I'm happy to be in the semis here once again."

After two hours on court, the 26-year-old is through to his 14th tour-level semi-final, where he will meet Italy's Luciano Darderi.

Darderi, who saved three match points against Denis Kudla in the Houston opening round, advanced to his second tour-level semi-final with a 6-0, 6-4 win against American Marcos Giron. The 22-year-old Italian went all the way last time he reached the semi-final stage, wining his first tour-level title in Cordoba earlier this season. All 11 of his tour-level wins have come on clay.

Darderi is up 10 places to No. 62 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings this week, setting himself up for a new career high, and can crack the Top 50 with the title. He will meet Frances Tiafoe or Jordan Thompson in Saturday's semis.