Argentine Thiago Tirante beat top seed Ben Shelton 7-6, 3-6, 6-4 on Friday to set up a semi-final against his fellow Argentine and friend Roman Burruchaga at the clay court ATP tournament in Houston, Texas.
Tirante, who is ranked 83rd in the world, has now beaten a top-10 player twice in his career, sending world number nine Shelton out of the competition.
“I knew Ben was a very tough player, so I had to take more risks at certain points,” said Tirante. “I played well at times and not so well at others, but the key was staying mentally strong and trying to break his serve, he serves brilliantly.”
Burruchaga, ranked 77th, beat third seed Learner Tien 7-5, 6-4 to reach his first ever semi-final. His father, Jorge Burruchaga, famously won the World Cup with Argentina back in 1986.
Second seed Frances Tiafoe saved a match point in the third set tiebreak to beat Australian Alexei Popyrin 3-6, 6-4, 7-6, booking his place in the semis. He will face fellow American Tommy Paul, who beat Tomas Etcheverry 6-4, 6-2.
