ASB Classic results: Taro Daniel becomes first Japanese semifinalist, Shelton pushed hard in the heat

Taro Daniel of Japan thanks the fans at the ASB Classic. Photo / Photosport

Taro Daniel became the first Japanese player to make the semifinals at the ASB Classic in the modern era on Thursday, beating French qualifier Alexandre Muller 6-4 6-7 6-3.

The 30-year-old US-based Japanese player led 4-0 in the second set before Muller fought back to level and eventually win in the tiebreak. However, Daniel re-engaged after a break to re-take control to win the final set 6-3.

The world no. 74, who won a title in Istanbul in 2018, was delighted with his efforts and the splendid weather following the big wet of the 2023 event.

“I thought it was a great match and played at a high level. It was a little bit of a pity I couldn’t close it off in the second but he raised his level and I pulled back a bit and in that moment I got a little nervous. That also happens.

“It’s really nice to be the first Japanese player to make the semifinals. Last year I had a really hard time. The weather was horrible and we had to play indoors and was one of the worst weeks in my career. So now to have one of the best – that contrast is so nice to have.”

Daniel achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 64 on 27 August 2018 and has eight ATP Challenger Tour singles titles to go along with his ATP Tour win in Istanbul. He is currently the No. 2-ranked Japanese player behind Kei Nishikori, who comes in at 45 in the world.

Shelton made to work hard in quarterfinal

Top seed Ben Shelton was forced to work hard in the heat to advance to the semifinals after outlasting Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena 6-4 6-3.

The 21-year-old world no. 16 will now take on Japan’s Taro Daniel in the semifinal tomorrow.

Shelton again showed his immense power, pushing the 230 km/h mark on his biggest serves but Carballes Baena proved tough until Shelton broke and then held serve to claim the first set.

It was a similar story in the second set which was tied at 3-all until Shelton held and then broke to move to the 6-3 set and match.

“The number of balls he was getting back in court and how close the score was in games, it didn’t feel routine with one break of set,” said Shelton. “There was a lot more tension in this match and I could have let it slip away from me and was down in some pretty clutch break points. I was pretty happy to get through that one.

“I am just trying to stick to my game-plan this week and focus on trying to play the right way, the type of tennis that I visualise myself playing three or four years from now, and being content with some of the mistakes.

“I want to have an aggressive style, an all-court player and most importantly, I don’t want to second-guess myself. I want to be committed to any decision I make on the court and not hesitate at all. When you hesitate you get in trouble.

“I think this is an environment that is a lot of fun. It is a beautiful place, a fun place to play and I really like the conditions here. There are noisy crowds who like to get in to it here.”