Houston
Shelton begins clay swing with 21-ace statement in Houston; Paul wins
Americans Shelton, Paul among those to book QF spots
April 02, 2026
Kenneth Richmond/Getty Images
Ben Shelton is into the Houston quarter-finals.
By ATP Staff
Top seed Ben Shelton began his clay-court swing in winning fashion Wednesday, ousting China’s Zhang Zhizhen 7-6(5), 7-6(3) at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship.
“It was my first match in almost a year on clay,” said Shelton, who hammered 21 aces. “I didn’t feel that comfortable playing from the baseline yet, it’s just something that’s going to take time and take a few matches. I knew I had to be effective with my serve tonight and hit a few aces, and I’m happy that I did.”
Neither player broke serve throughout the one-hour, 53-minute match, during which Shelton rallied from 2/5 in the first-set tie-break to win the opener.
Shelton, who won the Houston trophy in 2024, is playing his first clay-court event since advancing to the Roland Garros quarter-finals last June. He arrived in Houston following a disappointing March, when he went 1-2 across Indian Wells and Miami. Shelton is set to surpass Taylor Fritz for American No. 1 honours in Monday’s PIF ATP Rankings.
The 23-year-old improved to 2-1 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Zhang, who beat Shelton two years ago at the clay-court ATP Masters 1000 event in Rome.
Into the quarter-finals, Shelton will next meet Argentine Thiago Agustin Tirante for the first time. Tirante downed Mackenzie McDonald 6-2, 6-0.
Fourth seed Tommy Paul overcame a stern test from Paraguay’s Adolfo Daniel Vallejo, rallying past the 21-year-old 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. Paul trailed 1-3 in the deciding set before winning five of the next six games to escape.
“It was tough for both of us to hold,” said Paul, commenting on the 10 breaks of serve across the match. “I think in those long rallies it was about digging deep, seeing who could come out on top with the long ones.
“I started playing a little bit more aggressive, I thought it helped me out. It’s always tough in these early rounds in these tournaments, especially changing surfaces. Hopefully all that court time today can help me going forward in the tournament.”
Up next for Paul is Tomas Martin Etcheverry, whom the American beat last week in the Miami fourth round. Etcheverry advanced with a 6-7(5), 6-0, 6-3 victory against Alex Bolt.
Vallejo was playing a Top 50 opponent for the first time in his career and was attempting to become the first Paraguayan to reach an ATP Tour quarter-final since 2006.
