Ben Shelton reached his first career ATP Tour final on Saturday with a three-set semifinal win over fellow American Marcos Giron at the Japan Open in Tokyo.
Shelton, 21, rebounded from a first-set loss to win 6-7 (2), 7-6 (5), 6-4 in two hours, 50 minutes. He hit 13 aces and broke Giron’s serve four times in eight chances. Shelton has made a meteoric rise from World No. 573 to No. 19 this season after reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open and the semifinals of the U.S. Open.
In Sunday’s final, he will face Russian Aslan Karatsev, who ousted wild card and home-country favorite Shintaro Mochizuki 6-4, 6-4 in 94 minutes. Karatsev hasn’t lost a set this week.
Karatsev, No. 50 in the world, is a three-time tour champion. Shelton beat him at the U.S. Open in September in their only head-to-head clash.
European Open
No. 4 seed Arthur Fils of France upset top-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4) to move to the final in Antwerp, Belgium.
Tsitsipas struck 10 aces and Fils nine. Fils broke the Greek’s serve once in four chances, but Tsitsipas could capitalize on only one of nine opportunities.
In the final, Fils will meet Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan, who ousted Maximilian Marterer of Germany 6-4, 6-4. Bublik hit 12 aces, compared with one for his opponent, on the way to winning 92 percent of points on his first serve.
BNP Paribas Nordic Open
Russian Pavel Kotov and Gael Monfils of France will meet in the final in Stockholm on Sunday after defeating a pair of Serbians in the semis.
Kotov topped Miomir Kecmanovic 6-3, 6-4, winning 79 percent of points on his first serve and not surrendering a break point.
Monfils eliminated Laslo Djere 7-5, 6-2 in 77 minutes. Monfils squandered a set point as he served at 5-4 in the first set, but won eight of the next nine points to break Djere and then serve out for the win.
–Field Level Media
