Frances Tiafoe will be playing in the semifinals of the US Men’s Clay Court Championship for the fourth year in a row on Saturday. Standing in his way to the final is American Tommy Paul.
This marks the seventh fight between Tiafoe and Paul. The head-to-head series is tied at 3-3, although Paul leads 3-1 in the main round. They haven’t faced each other on clay since 2015 and haven’t split since 2024, when Paul won 6-2, 6-2 in the Delray Beach semis.
Although the clay isn’t Tiafoe’s favorite place, it’s clear that he loves life in Houston. The world No. 18 is 15-6 lifetime in the event with one title and two runners-up. He returned to the other semi-final following a win over Rinky Hijikata and Alexei Popyrin. Against Popyrin on Friday night, Tiafoe saved one match point before winning 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(6) in two hours and 47 minutes.
Even in Houston, the chips may be stacked against Tiafoe on Saturday. Like his compatriot, Paul is extremely good at things red even if it is far from his favorite place. So far this week the world number 21 has defeated Adolfo Daniel Vallejo of Paraguay and Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina, two clay court players. Paul stunningly destroyed Etcheverry 6-4, 6-2 in the finals and closed things out for hours before Tiafoe got past Popyrin.
Paul has the advantage of rest and an edge in the current situation. The fourth seed should advance to the championship game and looks like the favorite for the title.
Pick: Paul at 2
