ADELAIDE: Americans Ben Shelton and Sebastian Korda crashed to defeats by lower-ranked opponents today in the semi-finals of Australian Open warm-up tournaments.
Shelton, who burst onto the scene last year by reaching the Melbourne Park quarter-finals and also got to the US Open semis, was looking to reach his second career final but the world No. 16 came unstuck against Taro Daniel at the Auckland Classic.
Daniel, ranked 74th in the world, beat Shelton 7-5, 7-6 (11-9) to record his fifth victory over a top 20 opponent and the Japanese player will meet Alejandro Tabilo in his first tour final since Istanbul in 2018.
Tabilo beat Arthur Fils 6-2, 7-5 to progress to the final.
"It's always difficult to play against Ben because he doesn't give you much rhythm," Daniel said. "The ball is really alive and it's about who can put on a little more pressure.
"The tie-break was a real dog fight."
At the Adelaide International, world No. 32 Jiri Lehecka thumped the 29th-ranked Korda 6-2, 6-1 and will face Jack Draper in the title clash.
Draper, ranked 62nd in the world, had already knocked out top seed Tommy Paul in the quarter-finals, and today the British 22-year-old continued his impressive run when he beat Alexander Bublik 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 to reach the final.
This is the second time Draper has reached an ATP final, after he lost to second seed Adrian Mannarino at the Sofia Open in November.
Former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko continued to build momentum for the Australian Open, which begins on Sunday, when she defeated Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) in the semi-finals of the Adelaide women's draw today.
Ostapenko will meet Daria Kasatkina in the final after her semi-final opponent, second seed Jessica Pegula, withdrew due to a gastrointestinal illness.
"Unfortunately I woke up not feeling great. Really wish I could have played tonight," Pegula said.
At the Hobart International, the top two seeds will meet in the final after American second seed Emma Navarro beat Yuan Yue of China 6-4, 6-3 in today's semi-final and top seed Elise Mertens of Belgium overcame Australia's Daria Saville 6-4, 4-6, 7-5. --Reuters