Shelton near-perfect on serve in quarter-final win over Lehecka, will reach top 10 for first time

American Ben Shelton produced a near-perfect performance on serve as he beat Jiri Lehecka 6-4, 6-4 on Friday to reach the semi-finals of the Stuttgart Open.

The third seed won all 28 of 28 points when he made his first serve and dropped just four points on second serve (12/16) as he romped to victory. He’ll play German Alexander Zverev, the top seed, next.

The win means the left hander will break into the world’s top 10 for the first time when the list is updated on Monday.

The 22-year-old American won against French qualifier Pierre-Hugues Herbert (7-6 (4), 7-5) in the previous round of the Stuttgart tournament.

Earlier in the tournament, Lehecka, ranked No 33, won against Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi (6-4, 6-4) and German wildcard Jan-Lennard Struff (6-4, 7-5).

Stuttgart ATP 250, other last eight results (Tennisclub Weissenhof Stuttgart, grass, EUR 751.630, most recent results first):

• Alexander Zverev beat Brandon Nakashima (6): 7-5, 6-4
• Taylor Fritz (2) beat Marton Fucsovics (Q): 6-3, 6-4
• Felix Auger-Aliassime (4) beat Justin Engel (WC): 7-6 (3), 6-3