Tabilo stuns Shelton to reach first ATP 500 semi-final on hard court

Alejandro Tabilo pulled off the biggest upset of the week in Washington on Saturday, beating No. 2 seed Ben Shelton 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 to reach the semi-finals of the Mubadala DC Open. The Chilean, ranked No. 30, will face Spain’s Rafael Jodar next.

The win is Tabilo’s biggest on hard court and his first ATP 500 semi-final on the surface, as well as his first top-10 win of the season and the fourth of his career. It is also his third semi-final of 2026, and his second in just three ATP-level appearances at the tournament, following a run to the last four at Bastad.

The match’s standout moment came at 6-4, 3-3 in the decider, when Tabilo produced a tweener lob winner that ranked among the shots of the year.

Shelton’s Top 10 ranking on the edge

Tabilo had reached the semi-finals by beating France’s Terence Atmane 6-3, 7-6 (6) and edging the Netherlands’ Tallon Griekspoor 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-4. Shelton, ranked No. 8, arrived off wins over Ugo Humbert (6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-4) and Martin Damm (6-4, 4-6, 6-4).

The loss leaves Shelton with work to do to protect his ranking heading into the Canadian Masters 1000 in Montreal, where he is defending 1,000 points from last year’s title run. Should he fail to go deep there again, he would be at risk of dropping out of the top 10 in the coming weeks.