Houston, April 5 Tommy Paul sailed into his first ATP Tour clay-court final after a gruelling three-set thriller to outlast Frances Tiafoe in the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship semifinals.
The American prevailed 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(7) in a two-hour, 45-minute showdown, advancing to his second final of the season and the ninth of his career.
With the victory, Paul ended the second seed’s hopes of reaching his fourth consecutive championship match at the ATP 250 event in Houston.
"I did a good job of playing when I needed to," Paul said. "That was an incredible match with Big Foe. "He has always been one of the most entertaining guys to watch. I am happy we got to play that match here."
Paul struck first and claimed the opening set 7-5. Tiafoe responded by claiming an early break in the second set. Serving at 4-3, his momentum was disrupted by a 90-minute rain delay, but he returned composed, saved a break point and held firm before closing out the set, ATP reports.
The third set remained tight throughout. Tiafoe broke early but couldn’t back it up, while Paul surged ahead 4-2 only for Tiafoe to claw back to 4-4. Both players refused to yield, sending the match into a tie-break.
Paul led 6/4 in the tie-break before Tiafoe saved two match points to draw level at 6/6, with the fourth seed eventually steadying under pressure in the closing exchanges to seal the thriller.
The American will aim to win his first title of the season when he faces Roman Andres Burruchaga in the final.
Earlier, Burruchaga notched a breakthrough semi-final victory, 6-1, 6-1, against countryman Thiago Agustin Tirante.
With a win, Burruchaga marched into his first ATP Tour final.
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