Auckland
Shelton in trouble vs. Baez as the rain ends in Auckland on Thursday
Giron beats Darderi in only completed QF
January 15, 2026
Ben Shelton and Sebastian Baez resume their quarter-final match in Auckland on Thursday.
By ATP staff
Top seed Ben Shelton will have plenty of work to do when quarter-final play resumes at the ASB Classic in Auckland.
Rain interrupted Thursday’s schedule at the ATP 250, shutting down the action early with seventh seed Sebastian Baez leading the No. 8 in the PIF ATP Rankings Shelton 7-5, 0-1, 30/15. Baez broke Shelton’s lefty serve three times in a topsy-turvy opening set and moved within a set of a first Lexus ATP Head2Head victory against the American.
Sealed in style 💫
Sebastian Baez takes the opening set against Shelton 7-5.@ASB_Classic | #ASBClassic26 pic.twitter.com/O9NqN1upGx
— ATP tour (@atptour) January 15, 2026
The pair return to the court to conclude their meeting in Auckland on Friday afternoon, where the winner will face Marcos Giron in the semi-finals. The American eased past Luciano Darderi 1-6, 7-5, 6-4 in the only completed quarter-final of the day in New Zealand.
Giron converted five of the 10 break points he earned against Darderi, according to Infosys ATP statistics, on his way to a two-hour, 36-minute win. The American is the first man to reach multiple semi-finals at tour level this season, having also reached that podium in Hong Kong last week.
“It was tough, but that’s why we play the best of three sets,” Giron said when asked about his difficult start to the match. “One set sucks to lose, but why not lose quickly and then move on!”
Two other quarter-final matches were abandoned during the first set in Auckland on Thursday. Fabian Marozsan was leading Eliot Spizziri 5-4, 30/30 when the rain arrived, while Jakub Mensik was serving at 0/30 against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard when play was stopped.
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