Published: January 15, 2026 at 6:01 pm
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina continued his push for a maiden ATP Tour title on Thursday evening at the Adelaide International, where he powered into the semifinals, says an ATP Tour.com report.
The 26-year-old Spaniard carved a series of stunning angles and winners to defeat reigning Shanghai champion Valentin Vacherot 7-6(4), 6-2. Davidovich Fokina, who has reached five ATP Tour finals — including two in which he held championship points in 2025 — is rising to the occasion in Adelaide, where he is competing as the top seed for the first time in his career.
“I knew his serve was amazing,” Davidovich Fokina said of Vacherot, who hit 15 aces. “I tried my best to return his serve… It was like playing against [John] Isner. The key was to be focused and I [have] improved my level every game.”
Into his 12th semifinal, Davidovich Fokina will face fourth seed Ugo Humbert, who fired 32 winners on way to dispatching qualifier Alexander Shevchenko 6-0, 6-3 in just 57 minutes.
Earlier, second seed Tommy Paul continued his impressive form in Adelaide by defeating Aussie Aleksandar Vukic 6-3, 6-2 to reach his third semifinal at the ATP 250 event. Paul, the former No. 8 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, missed the final three months of the 2025 season due to a lingering foot injury and returned last week in Brisbane, where he fell to big-serving Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the first round.
“I’m just happy to be back out here. It was a long end of the year for me, and to be back in Australia playing great tennis, I’m really happy,” said Paul, who also reached the Australian Open semi-finals in 2023. “All the tournaments in Australia, they do a good job of keeping most of the courts the same speed, and they seem to match up with my game.”
Paul will next face Tomas Machac, who beat Jaume Munar 6-4, 6-4 to advance to his first semi-final since winning his only ATP Tour title in Acapulco last February. The eighth-seeded Czech takes a 2-1 Lexus ATP Head2Head lead into his clash with Paul, who won their most recent meeting in Rome last year.
Machac arrived in Adelaide having not won a tour-level match since his Shanghai opener in October, but he is yet to drop a set across three dominant victories this week.
Marcos Giron rallied past Luciano Darderi 1-6, 7-5, 6-4 in the only completed quarterfinal of the day in New Zealand. Pic: ATP Tour
Rain plays spoilsport in Auckland, Giron enters semis
Top seed Ben Shelton will have plenty of work to do when quarterfinal play resumes at the ASB Classic in Auckland.
Rain interrupted the Thursday schedule at the ATP 250, bringing an early close to the action 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 to move within a set of a maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head triumph against the American.
The pair is scheduled to return to court to finish their encounter on Friday afternoon in Auckland, where the winner will take on Marcos Giron in the semifinals. The American rallied past Luciano Darderi 1-6, 7-5, 6-4 in the only completed quarterfinal of the day in New Zealand.
Giron converted five of 10 break points he earned against Darderi, according to Infosys ATP stats, en route to a two-hour, 36-minute triumph. The American is the first man to reach multiple tour-level semi-finals this season after he also reached that stage in Hong Kong last week.
“It was tough, but that’s why we play best out of three sets,” said Giron when asked about his difficult start to the match. “One set it sucks to lose, but I guess why not lose fast and then move forward!”
Two other quarterfinals were cut short during the first set on Thursday in Auckland. Fabian Marozsan led 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 suspended.
