Shelton serves up a first in Houston

It did not come easily, but Ben Shelton battled into his first clay-court quarter-final on the ATP Tour Wednesday evening in Houston.

The top seed rallied past Belgian Zizou Bergs 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in two hours and 25 minutes to make the last eight at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship. The top seed will next face countryman Brandon Nakashima.

“Just really happy to get through it. It definitely was a long one,” Shelton said in his on-court interview. “Sorry if I kept you guys here a little later than you expected tonight, but really happy to be playing here in Houston. It's a great fanbase that they have for tennis here. Thanks everyone for coming out!”

Simply amazing 👏@BenShelton | @mensclaycourt | #USClay pic.twitter.com/NF8pzjFiKH

— ATP Tour (@atptour) April 4, 2024

Bergs is at a career-high No. 111 in the PIF ATP Rankings and is charging towards the Top 100. Although the 24-year-old battled hard and saved 13 of the 16 break points he faced according to Infosys ATP Stats, the Belgian was unable to hold off Shelton’s charge.

The big-serving lefty only hit three aces, but won 75 per cent of his first-serve points to advance at the ATP 250 event, where he will try to reach his third tour-level semi-final of 2024. The former University of Florida Gator is not putting pressure on himself as the top seed.

“I don't really think about it. I'm not someone who really checks the draw too much. I just come out here to compete and play,” Shelton said. “I’m just happy to be here in Houston. Some of my family who lives in Texas came out tonight so thank you guys for making the drive. You guys are the best!”

His next opponent, Nakashima, is full of confidence. The 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF champion ousted Australian Rinky Hijikata 6-1, 6-4.

The 22-year-old began the year at World No. 134. Nakashima is up to No. 87 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings after winning 94 per cent of his first-serve points in the match (29/31). He did not face a break point. Shelton and Nakashima will meet for the first time in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

In the upset of the day, Luciano Darderi eliminated second seed Francisco Cerundolo 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(4).

The World No. 72 won 40 per cent of his return points to put pressure on Cerundolo's serve throughout the match. The Italian showed earlier this year he can shine at this level when he stormed to his first ATP Tour title in Cordoba.

In other action, Marcos Giron won a battle of Americans against J.J. Wolf 6-4, 6-3. Giron earlier this year reached his second ATP Tour final in Dallas. Will he make another deep run in Texas?