American Ben Shelton, the No 6 seed, advanced to the semi-finals of the Swiss Indoors by defeating Russian Andrey Rublev, the top seed, with a score of 7-5, 6-7 (3), 6-4 at the St. Jakobshalle in Basel on Friday. Shelton, currently ranked No 23, will now face Frenchman Arthur Fils, the No 7 seed, in the next round.
He becomes the first player to eliminate the top seed in Basel before the semi-final stage since Mischa Zverev achieved the same by defeating Stan Wawrinka in the 2016 quarter-finals.
The 22-year-old American secured wins against Argentinian Tomas Martin Etcheverry (6-3, 6-4) and Swiss wildcard Stan Wawrinka (7-6 (2), 7-5) in the lead up to his victory over Rublev.
In earlier rounds of the Basel tournament, Rublev, ranked No. 7, defeated Portuguese Nuno Borges (6-3, 6-2) and Chilean Alejandro Tabilo (7-6 (3), 6-1).
Other results of the Basel ATP 500 quarter-finals at St. Jakobshalle include Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard vs. Denis Shapovalov, David Goffin vs. Holger Rune, and Arthur Fils beating Stefanos Tsitsipas (3) with a score of 7-6 (5), 6-3.
