Houston
Paul survives Tiafoe & rain, reaches first ATP clay ultimate in Houston
Fourth seed to face Burruchaga in Sunday’s ultimate
April 04, 2026
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Tommy Paul defeated Frances Tiafoe on Saturday in Houston.
By ATP Employees
Tommy Paul marched into his first ATP Tour clay-court ultimate on Saturday when he battled by means of a gruelling three-set thriller to outlast Frances Tiafoe within the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Males’s Clay Courtroom Championship semi-finals.
The American prevailed 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(7) in a two-hour, 45-minute showdown, advancing to his second ultimate 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 great job of enjoying after I wanted to,” Paul mentioned. “That was an unbelievable match with Huge Foe.
“He has at all times been one of the entertaining guys to look at. I’m comfortable we bought to play that match right here right this moment.”
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 ultimately 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 collection with Tiafoe. The American will purpose to win his first title of the season when he faces Roman Andres Burruchaga in Sunday’s ultimate.
Burruchaga notched a breakthrough semi-final victory earlier on Saturday. Along with his 6-1, 6-1 win in opposition to countryman and good buddy Thiago Agustin Tirante, the 24-year-old marched into his first ATP Tour ultimate.
“We’re very shut buddies, so it’s by no means straightforward,” Burruchaga mentioned. “It was a really robust match, so I’m comfortable.”
Tirante reached the final 4 with out dropping serve, highlighted by a quarter-final win in opposition to 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 received 100 per cent (21/21) of his first-serve factors, in line with Infosys ATP Stats. Along with his 61-minute triumph, the Argentine jumped 5 spots to No. 61 within the PIF ATP Dwell Rankings.
“It’ll be my first ultimate tomorrow,” Burruchaga mentioned. “I performed actually good tennis all the week, so I’m tremendous comfortable.”
