Tommy Paul survives Frances Tiafoe & rain, reaches first ATP clay final in Houston | ATP Tour

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Paul survives Tiafoe & rain, reaches first ATP clay closing in Houston

Fourth seed to face Burruchaga in Sunday’s closing

April 04, 2026

Tommy Paul marched into his first ATP Tour clay-court closing on Saturday when he battled by means of a gruelling three-set thriller to outlast Frances Tiafoe within the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship semi-finals.

The American prevailed 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(7) in a two-hour, 45-minute showdown, advancing to his second closing of the season and the ninth of his profession. With the victory, Paul ended the second seed’s hopes of reaching his fourth consecutive championship match on the ATP 250 occasion in Houston.

“I did a very good job of taking part in once I wanted to,” Paul mentioned. “That was an unbelievable match with Large Foe.

“He has all the time been one of the vital entertaining guys to observe. I’m completely happy we acquired to play that match right here immediately.”

In a match of razor-thin margins and excessive drama, Paul struck first and claimed the opening set 7-5. Tiafoe responded by claiming an early break within the second set. Serving at 4-3, his momentum was disrupted by a 90-minute rain delay, however he returned composed, saved a break level and held agency earlier than closing out the set.

The third set remained tight all through. Tiafoe broke early however couldn’t again it up, whereas Paul surged forward 4-2 just for Tiafoe to claw again to 4-4. Each gamers refused to yield, sending the match right into a tie-break. Paul led 6/4 within the tie-break earlier than Tiafoe saved two match factors to attract degree at 6/6, with the fourth seed finally steadying beneath stress within the closing exchanges to seal the thriller.

With the victory, the 28-year-old improved to 4-1 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head sequence with Tiafoe. The American will goal to win his first title of the season when he faces Roman Andres Burruchaga in Sunday’s closing.

Burruchaga notched a breakthrough semi-final victory earlier on Saturday. Together with his 6-1, 6-1 win towards countryman and good buddy Thiago Agustin Tirante, the 24-year-old marched into his first ATP Tour closing.

“We’re very shut associates, so it’s by no means simple,” Burruchaga mentioned. “It was a really robust match, so I’m completely happy.”

Tirante reached the final 4 with out dropping serve, highlighted by a quarter-final win towards prime seed Ben Shelton. However Burruchaga disrupted that momentum by making use of relentless stress from the outset, denying Tirante any alternative to determine rhythm.

Watch Burruchaga vs. Tirante highlights:

The 24-year-old completed having transformed 5 of the eight break factors he earned and gained 100 per cent (21/21) of his first-serve factors, in keeping with Infosys ATP Stats. Together with his 61-minute triumph, the Argentine jumped 5 spots to No. 61 within the PIF ATP Stay Rankings.

“It will be my first closing tomorrow,” Burruchaga mentioned. “I performed actually good tennis the whole week, so I’m tremendous completely happy.”