by Hanlon Walsh
History was made Thursday at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships. For the second day in a row, all four singles winners were Americans, making this year’s edition of US Clay the first in the Open Era to have only Americans in the quarterfinals.
Frances Tiafoe, the 2023 champion, led the way Thursday at River Oaks and was joined by countrymen Brandon Nakashima, Chris Eubanks and Alex Michelsen who were also victorious Thursday.
Those four will join Wednesday’s winners, top seed Tommy Paul, Aleksandar Kovacevic and qualifiers Colton Smith and Jenson Brooksby in Friday’s final eight, the first ATP quarterfinals to feature eight Americans since 1991 in Orlando.
In his seventh US Clay appearance, Tiafoe kicked off his 2025 campaign with a straight-set victory over Australian Adam Walton, 7-5, 6-3. Tiafoe, the 2023 US Clay champion and 2024 finalist, has now won eight of his last nine matches at River Oaks.
“I thought I played pretty solid tonight. I have so many great memories here in Houston - it’s probably been my best tournament on tour throughout my career. You always play best in the cities you love being in. I was happy to get the win in straight sets tonight.” - Frances Tiafoe
Tiafoe’s quarterfinal opponent will be 20-year-old Michelsen, the fifth seed who defeated Frenchman Adrian Mannarino in Thursday’s second night session in a tight three-set battle. Tiafoe won their only previous meeting last year in Dallas on indoor hard courts, but this will be the first time the two Americans will meet on the clay.
In Thursday’s opening match, American Nakashima scored his first career win over Mackenzie McDonald, against whom he previously held an 0-4 record. Nakashima’s serve was a key difference maker, as the fourth seed served up seven aces and won more than 80 percent of points on his first and second serves.
“I thought it was a very solid match from my side. I’m happy that I was feeling pretty comfortable out there and was able to get my first win over Mackie. Clay was definitely the difference maker today versus our previous matchups, and I also served really well.” - Brandon Nakashima
Nakashima next advances to his third career ATP quarterfinal on clay and faces fellow American Eubanks, who defeated eighth seed Kei Nishikori 6-1 before the Japanese star was forced to retire after the first set due to injury. The 28-year-old, who has picked up two of his three career victories on clay this week, enters new territory ahead of his debut ATP clay quarterfinal.
“Last year was my first time playing a full ATP clay swing. I had never played on clay that much in my life. By the end of the clay season, I was starting to feel a little more confident and then we switched over to grass. I’ve had some great practices the last few days coming into my first round match, so I’m glad I’ve been able to translate that to my matches this week and show the progress I’ve been making on the practice court.” - Chris Eubanks
Doubles Take: American Olympic Stars Exit Early
Team USA’s Olympic silver medal duo, No. 3 Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram, fell in Thursday’s quarterfinal match against Santiago Gonzalez and Federico Agustin Gomez 6-4, 6-4. Though an upset on paper, Gonzalez is no stranger to River Oaks success, having won the 2019 US Clay doubles title and finished runner-up in 2016. He also owns nine ATP clay titles, the most of any doubles player in the field.
In Thursday’s second doubles match, the Australian-Brazilian duo of John Patrick Smith and Fernando Romboli edged Americans Ryan Seggerman and Patrick Trhac 7-6(9), 7-6(5). Both teams will compete in the semifinals on Friday with a chance to play for the US Clay doubles trophy on Saturday.
