Americans ft. Frances Tiafoe, Tommy Paul sweep quarterfinal lineup in Houston for first time since Orlando 1991 ft. Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras
All eight quarterfinal spots at the US Men's Clay Court Championships in Houston have been won by American players. Such an instance has occurred for the first time since the 1991 Prudential -Bache Securities Classic in Orlando.
There were four American seeds at the event- Top seed Tommy Paul, second seed Frances Tiafoe, fourth seed Brandon Nakashima, and fifth seed Alex Michelsen, all of whom have reached the last eight. Paul battled past Cristian Garin in a three-set thriller in the second round, whereas Tiafoe registered a straight-set win over Adam Walton.
Nakashima prevailed over a compatriot, Mackenzie McDonald, whereas Alex Michelsen went past former Top-20 player Adrian Mannarino. The all-American quarterfinal lineup also features two qualifiers in Jenson Brooksby and Colton Smith. Brooksby won his matches against Taro Daniel and third-seed Alejandro Tabilo, whereas Smith won against the likes of James Duckworth and Ethan Quinn to advance to the quarterfinals.
The other two quarterfinalists include Christopher Eubanks and Aleksandar Kovacevic. While Eubanks won against Rinki Hijikata and got a victory over eighth-seeded Kei Nishikori via retirement, Kovacevic won his matches against seventh-seeded Tomas Martin Etcheverry and Corentin Denolly.
Such an American sweep was last seen at the Orlando event in 1991, where the quarterfinal lineup included the likes of Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, Brad Gilbert, and others. Agassi won the title with a win over compatriot Derrick Rostagno in the final. The field was dominated by Americans, as only 12 of the 32 competitors were outside of the USA, and seven of the Top eight seeds were Americans.
Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul are the favorites for the title in Houston
Being the top two seeds, Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe are the frontrunners at Houston to clinch the title. Paul will face qualifier Colton Smith, which will be the first meeting between the two, but the former will be the favorite as he is the top seed and has more experience.
Tiafoe will face a sterner test in the quarterfinals as he takes on fifth-seeded Alex Michelsen. The second seed has a 1-0 head-to-head against Michelsen as he won the only match against the 20-year-old at the Dallas Open last year.
Given that both Paul and Tiafoe make it through the draw and meet in the final, the head-to-head will be 3-1 in favor of Paul. However, Frances Tiafoe is a past champion in Houston, winning the title in 2023, winning 7-6 (1), 7-6 (6) against Tomas Martin Etcheverry. He also reached the final last year but lost 5-7, 6-4, 3-6 against Ben Shelton.