MUNICH — American Ben Shelton advanced to his second clay-court semifinals by beating Luciano Darderi, while top-seeded Alexander Zverev rallied to beat Tallon Griekspoor at the BMW Open on Friday.
Shelton, who won the Houston title on clay a year ago, hit 29 winners to Darderi’s 12 in a 6-4, 6-3 victory in chilly temperatures in Bavaria.
Shelton, the No. 2 seed, next faces Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo for a spot in the final. The fifth-seeded Cerundolo moved into the last four by defeating David Goffin 6-2, 6-4.
Before the tournament, Shelton attended his first professional soccer game when Bayern Munich drew with rival Borussia Dortmund 2-2 last Saturday.
In reaching his ninth tour-level semifinal, Shelton ended Darderi’s career-best winning streak at seven matches, which included the Marrakech title.
The third-ranked Zverev held off Griekspoor 6-7 (6), 7-6 (3), 6-4 and will next face Fabian Marozsan or Zizou Bergs in the semifinals.
