Leveraging his monster serve and high-kicking forehand that helped him win the majority of extended baseline battles, Shelton romped to a relatively comfortable 6-3, 6-4 win, which contrasted the back-to-back third-set tie-break victories he endured over Brandon Nakashima<\/a> in the third round and Flavio Cobolli<\/a> in the fourth round.\n<\/p>\n “I’m really happy with the win; it showed a lot of mental toughness,\u201d Shelton said. \u201cHe’s broken me a million times in practice and he’s a really tough competitor. I served out the sets confidentially and I’m really excited about the chance to be in the semi-finals.” <\/p>\n Shelton, who served 13 aces in the 91-minute win, will now look for his first win over second seed Taylor Fritz<\/a> in a rare all-American Masters 1000 semi-final (just the fourth since 2000). Fritz won their lone Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting in Indian Wells in 2023. <\/p>\n Shelton clubbed eight forehand winners and capitalised on an unusual 28 unforced errors from De Minaur, according to Infosys ATP Stats. He also won 32 baseline points to De Minaur\u2019s 29, edging the Australian 12-7 in rallies of nine or more shots.<\/p>\n “A lot of guys see me as just a server and not as much as a baseliner,” Shelton said. “Psychologically, when I get into a match and go into lockdown mode and put a million balls in the court, my rally ball does come with a good bit of weight and I feel I surprise guys at times. <\/p>\n “Being able to win the longer rallies and be comfortable in my own skin and not feeling like I\u2019m rushing to make something happen is a huge part of my evolution.”<\/p>\n Victory over 2023 Toronto finalist De Minaur lifted Shelton two spots to seventh in the PIF ATP Live Race to Turin as he looks to make his debut at the season finale from 9-16 November in Italy. <\/p>\n Shelton, 22, who also became the youngest American Masters 1000 semi-finalist since Andy Roddick<\/a> 20 years ago in Indian Wells, will improve his career-high PIF ATP Ranking from No. 7 to No. 6 \u2013 leapfrogging Novak Djokovic<\/a> \u2013 should he win the title.<\/p>\n Looking ahead to his clash with Fritz, just the fourth all-American semi-final at this level since 2000, Shelton said, “Yeah, really excited. I played him right when I came out on tour. We had a great battle in Indian Wells\u2026 He’s a big-match player. He’s been carrying the flag for the United States in the big tournaments as of late. He’s clutch, serves well. We’re great friends, and it’s a match that I’m really excited about.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"It](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1754482807_164_it-all-adds-up-banner.jpg\"\/)
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