Argentina’s Thiago Agustin Tirante, ranked 83rd in the world, staged a remarkable comeback Friday to defeat top-seeded Ben Shelton at the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship in Houston.
Despite dropping the opening set in a tiebreaker 7-6 (5), Tirante bounced back to claim the next two sets 6-3 and 6-4. The Argentine player dominated on serve, winning all 16 of his service games throughout the match.
The defeat extends Shelton’s recent struggles, as the American hasn’t reached a quarterfinal since capturing the Dallas Open title with a victory over Taylor Fritz on February 15.
Other Friday results from Houston’s clay courts saw Argentina’s Roman Andres Burruchaga eliminate third-seeded Learner Tien 7-5, 6-4, while Tommy Paul took down Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-4, 6-2.
The day’s final match featured second-seeded Frances Tiafoe grinding out a marathon 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (6) victory over Australia’s Alexei Popyrin in a contest lasting two hours and 47 minutes. Tiafoe will meet Paul in an all-American semifinal, while the two Argentine winners will battle in the other semifinal.
Grand Prix Hassan II
In Marrakech, Morocco, Argentina’s Marco Trungelliti (ranked 117th) pulled off another upset by defeating third-seeded Frenchman Corentin Moutet 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Trungelliti fired six aces to help offset eight double faults in his victory.
Argentina’s Camilo Ugo Carabelli also rallied from a set down to beat France’s Luca van Assche 0-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the tournament’s other three-set match.
Spain’s Rafael Jodar advanced when France’s Alexandre Muller retired trailing 6-2, 2-0, while Italy’s Luciano Darderi received a walkover against Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann.
Tiriac Open
Following a weather-delayed Thursday in Bucharest, Romania, eight matches reached completion on Friday.
Spain’s Daniel Merida Aguilar, France’s Titouan Droguet, Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan and Germany’s Daniel Altmaier all claimed early victories. The Netherlands’ Botic van de Zandschulp, Argentina’s Mariano Navone, Merida Aguilar and Marozsan later secured semifinal berths.
Third-seeded Marozsan eliminated sixth-seeded Altmaier 6-2, 7-6 (5), while Merida Aguilar advanced when Droguet retired trailing 4-6, 7-6 (7), 3-1.
