We are at the semi final phase at the ATP 500 Mubadala Citi DC open in Washington. The first Seed Rublev is out after losing to Tiafoe. Frances will face his compatriot Korda i the second semi final. Ben Shelton had a bit of a weird quarter final and will square off with Flavio Cobolli in the first semifinal.
The second seed Ben Shelton defeated Denis Shapovalov yesterday after Shapovalov was defaulted. Shelton had won the first set in a tie break and they were in the middle of the second set tiebreak when The Canadien got sent off the court. Shapovalov will lose all his points and prize Money from the event. The 21 year old Ben Shelton is ramping up before the US Open and he has defeated Radu Albot in three sets and Brandon Nakashima in straight sets. The 14th ranked player in the world has played against Cobolli once and lost. That match was played on clay in Geneva this season. Flavio Cobolli is seeded 10th at the event and 48th in the world. Flavio has played 40 matches and won 21 of them on the ATP tour in 2024. In Washington Cobolli has defeated David Goffin in straight sets. Davidovich Fokina in three sets and Alex Michelsen in three sets. He won the decisive third set tie breaks both against Michelsen and Fokina.
This matchup has potential written all over it. Two players that have been struggling a little bit during the season are starting to find their way on the court. Both players are playing more freely and relaxed. The US Open starts in a couple of weeks and as American players they want to show the best versions of themselves. Tiafoe, ranked 29th and seeded 5th, defeated Rublev n the quarter final yesterday in straight sets. Before that match the 26 year old had two wins in three sets against Aleksandar Kovacevic and Daniel Galan. Frances Tiafoe is up 3-2 in the head two heads. Korda won the last match they played at Queens last season. Korda is currently the 22nd best player in the world. He is seeded at the 4h spot at the Mubadala Citi DC Open. The 22 year old has defeated Garin in three sets. Kokkinakis retired in the third set. In the quarter finals Korda got the better of Jordan Thompson, the winner of the Atlanta Open the past week, in two sets. That was a very solid performance on Korda’s behalf.
