BRITON Jack Draper has dominated top seed Tommy Paul to advance to the Adelaide International semi finals. The world number 38 needed just one hour and 20 minutes to dismantle his highly fancied opponent, fresh off a marathon victory over Miomir Kecmanovic on Wednesday.

Draper impressed from the get-go, shooting out to a 4-0 lead in the opening set and breaking again at 5-1. Paul arrested momentum in the second set but was broken at 5-4 to go down in straight sets, as Draper capped the upset victory with a fizzing winner down the line.

“I’m really impressed with the way I came out today,” Draper said post-match. “I knew it was going to be difficult, I played a really long match yesterday. I’m really proud of the work I’m doing, showing my physicality on court.

“Each time I play I’m proving myself to be a better player than I thought I was, so a really good match against a great player like Tommy.”

The final point marked one of the 22-year-old’s 24 winners for the match, as he beat Paul at the Adelaide event for the second time in as many years. He will now face Alexander Bulbik for a spot in the final, after the entertaining Kazakh toppled fourth seed Italian Lorenzo Musetti 6-3, 6-7, 7-5.

On the other side of the draw, Sebastian Korda will take on Jiri Lechecka after both players won their respective quarter finals is straight sets. With Paul eliminated and second seed Nicolas Jarry felled by Lechecka, third-ranked Korda is now the top seed left in the tournament.

RESULTS | Day 6 (Quarter Finals):

Jack Draper def. Tommy Paul [1] 6-1, 6-4
Jiri Lechecka [7] def. Nicolas Jarry [2] 6-4, 7-5
Sebastian Korda [3] def. Christopher O’Connell (WC) 6-4, 6-4
Alexander Bublik [8] def. Lorenzo Musetti [4] 6-3, 6-7, 7-5

Semi Finals Draw:
Jack Draper vs. Alexander Bublik [8]
Sebastian Korda [3] vs. Jiri Lechecka [7]

RETIREMENT, WALKOVER SHAPE SEMIS

A walkover and retirement made quick work of the ASB Classic quarter finals in Auckland yesterday, as two seeds progressed to semi final matchups against unranked opponents. Meanwhile, top seed Ben Shelton secured a straight sets victory to punch his ticket to the final four.

Shelton defeated Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena 6-4, 6-3 to set up a meeting with Taro Daniel. The latter was pushed to three sets by qualifier Alexandre Muller, almost blowing his lead but holding on to become Japan’s first ever semi-finalist at the ASB Classic, winning 6-4, 6-7, 6-3.

Second seed Cameron Norrie ended his run in the quarters though, handing Chilean qualifier Alejandro Tabilo a walkover win. A retirement made things easier for Arthur Fils too, as Daniel Altmaier called it quits with the score sitting at 7-6, 1-0 in favour of the sixth-ranked Frenchman. Fils and Tabilo will now square off for a place in the final.

RESULTS | Day 6 (Quarter Finals):
Ben Shelton [1] def. Roberto Carballes Baena 6-4, 6-3
Alejandro Tabilo (Q) def. Cameron Norrie [2] (WO)
Arthur Fils [6] def. Daniel Altmaier 7-6, 1-0 (RET)
Taro Daniel def. Alexandre Muller (Q) 6-4, 6-7, 6-3

Semi Finals Draw:
Ben Shelton [1] vs. Taro Daniel
Alexandre Fils [6] vs. Alejandro Tabilo (Q)