Ben Shelton beats Luciano Darderi to reach Munich semifinals

MUNICH (AP) — Ben Shelton advanced to his second clay-court semifinals by beating Luciano Darderi 6-4, 6-3 at the BMW Open on Friday.

The 22-year-old American, who won the Houston title on clay a year ago, hit 29 winners to Darderi’s 12 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 2-2 with rival Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.

In reaching his ninth tour-level semifinal, Shelton ended Darderi’s career-best winning streak at seven matches, which included the Marrakech title.

Top-seeded Alexander Zverev was playing Tallon Griekspoor in a later quarterfinal match.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

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