Shelton to meet doubles partner in Basel’s last four

Ben Shelton kept his composure to outlast top seed Andrey Rublev 7-5, 6-7(3), 6-4 and advance to his seventh tour-level semi-final and set a clash with doubles teammate Arthur Fils at the Swiss Indoors Basel.

The 22-year-old American Shelton was imperious on serve throughout the contest, during which he slammed 13 aces and saved all six of the break points he faced in general encounter on Friday.

He also converted each of the two break points he carved out, which proved to be decisive.

“I knew this was a big one for me, I struggled a lot this year in quarter-finals, and I’ve lost a lot of them against Top 10 players,” said Shelton. “It’s been a tough hump to overcome, but to get to the second to last week of the year and finally do it is huge for me. Especially with the way I was able to overcome everything Rublev threw at me today.

After defeating Andrey Rublev, Ben Shelton delt a huge blow in the Greek’s pursuit for a spot at the ATP finals in Riyadh next month.

Ben Shelton will next face his doubles partner Arthur Fils in the semi-finals tomorrow. The Frenchman defeated third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6(5), 6-3 earlier to book his spot in the last four.

“He [Fils] is one of my best friends on the Tour, and I see him as one of my main rivals out of the young guys. He’s playing incredible tennis at the moment, and there is no one I would rather match up against on a Saturday here in Basel. I’m looking for some revenge.”

Fils remains in pole position in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah, 1,235 points ahead of second-placed Alex Michelsen.