The American Ben Shelton, 19th in the world, qualified for the semi-finals of the ATP 500 tournament in Tokyo on Friday by beating his compatriot Tommy Paul, 12th, in straight sets (7-6 (7/4), 6-3 ). In the semi-final, the young 21-year-old left-hander will face another American, Marcos Giron (79th in the ATP), who qualified by dismissing the Canadian Félix Auger-Aliassime (6-1, 6-4).
Shelton, a rising tennis star across the Atlantic, was once again able to rely on a devastating serve which allowed him to save six of the seven break points obtained by his opponent. He also served 14 aces. “I had to stay calm to finish in the tie-break of the first set after being broken while I was serving for the set,” reacted the young American. “Being able to overcome that took a lot of mental strength,” he said. The Floridian, who reached the quarter-finals at the Australian Open and the semi-finals at the US Open for his first full season on the main circuit, should climb at least two places in the next ATP rankings published Monday.
In the semi-final on Saturday, Shelton will face one of the sensations of the Tokyo tournament, Marcos Giron, 79th in the world and from qualifying, who beat Félix Auger-Aliassime in 1h21. The Californian did not let the Canadian breathe by attacking both sets, leading 4-0 in the first then 3-0 in the second. “Félix is obviously a phenomenal player (…) he beat me many times, so I knew I had to play well and above all be aggressive,” reacted the 30-year-old. Giron had already taken out the Norwegian Casper Ruud, 8th player in the world, in the second round.
