LOS ANGELES, FEB 10: Marcos Giron cruised past top-seeded Frances Tiafoe 6-1, 6-4 on Friday to set up a semi-final clash with fourth-seeded Adrian Mannarino of France at the ATP Dallas Open.
Giron, ranked 67th in the world, notched his first win over a top-20 player since he beat Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime to reach the Tokyo semi-finals in October.
World number 14 Tiafoe couldn muster a break point against his fellow American, who won their first career encounter at the Paris Masters in 2021 but had lost their next three meetings.
Mannarino, who received a walkover in the second round, was leading 6-2, 3-1 when Aussie opponent James Duckworth retired with an injury. Saturdays other semi-final will be an all-American affair between second-seeded Tommy Paul and third-seeded Ben Shelton.
Paul edged closer to a second ATP title with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Germanys Dominik Koepfer while Shelton defeated Jordan Thompson 6-7 (2/7), 6-4, 6-4.
Paul and Koepfer traded five breaks of serve in the opening set, Paul breaking at love in the 11th game and serving out the set.
The 15th-ranked Paul needed five match points to put it away, squandering a 40-0 lead before closing out the final game.
Shelton dropped the first set despite not facing a break point, but he came up with gritty service holds to finish off the second and third sets. —AFP
