Tokyo, Oct 20 (AP) Ben Shelton reached his second career tour semifinal by beating 12th-ranked Tommy Paul 7-6 (4), 6-3 at the Japan Open on Friday.

It's the 21-year-old Shelton's second consecutive win against his American compatriot, following a victory during his breakthrough run to the U.S. Open semifinals in September. It's also his fourth win out of five against top-15 players, with victories against Jannik Sinner and Frances Tiafoe also in that streak.

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“It was definitely a difficult challenge, as it is whenever you play against a guy as talented and as tough as Tommy Paul,” the 19th-ranked Shelton said. “To be able to get through that with a win, it took a lot of mental toughness. I had to stay calm in the first set, serving for the set and then getting broken and having to finish it in the tiebreaker. It was a difficult task but I'm happy to be moving on.”

Shelton will play American qualifier Marcos Giron in Saturday's semifinals after the world No. 79 continued his impressive week with a 6-1, 6-4 win over 17th-ranked Felix Auger-Aliassime.

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Giron made a fast start in both sets to carry him to an 81-minute win against Auger-Aliassime, who had reached his first tour-level quarterfinal since May.

Fourth-seeded Alex de Minaur was eliminated by Aslan Karatsev 6-3, 6-2.

The 50th-ranked Karatsev will play the winner of the match between Japanese wild-card Shintaro Mochizuki and Alexei Popyrin.

Jiangxi Open

Third-seeded Marie Bouzkova advanced to the semifinals of the Jiangxi Open in China with an emphatic 6-0, 6-4 win over Camila Osorio.

Diana Shnaider ended local favorite Nao Hibino's run with a 6-0, 7-5 victory to clinch a semifinal berth against the 29th-ranked Bouzkova.

Hong Kong Open winner Leylah Fernandez also moved into the semifinals by eliminating Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-3, 6-4. The Canadian will play Katerina Siniakova, who progressed after Laura Siegemund withdrew before their quarterfinal match.

Due to wet weather in Nanchang on Thursday the remaining second-round matches were played earlier Friday with Siniakova beating seventh-seeded Varvara Gravach 6-4, 6-3 and Siegemund defeating Ulrikke Eikeri 6-1, 6-3.

Also, Fernandez beat Chinese qualifier You Xiaodi 6-4, 6-1 and Sasnovich eliminated Valeria Savinykh 6-3, 6-2. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)