Washington, D.C. SF previews and predictions: Korda vs. Tiafoe, Shelton vs. Cobolli

A couple of all-seeded showdowns are on the Saturday schedule in Washington, D.C., where Americans Sebastian Korda and Frances Tiafoe are squaring off. Ben Shelton and Flavio Cobolli are also in semifinal action.

(5) Frances Tiafoe vs. (4) Sebastian Korda

Korda and Tiafoe will be facing each other for the sixth time in their careers when they battle for a place in the Citi Open final on Saturday night. Tiafoe leads the head-to-head series 3-2, although Korda has won two in a row (at the 2022 Cincinnati Masters and last season at Queen’s Club).

Tiafoe has slumped for the most part in 2024, but a return to U.S. hard courts and more specifically to his home tournament in Washington, D.C. has predictably proven to be just what the doctor ordered. The 29th-ranked American has advanced with victories over and Daniel Elahi Galan, Aleksandar Kovacevic, and Andrey Rublev. Korda earned his spot in the last four by beating Cristian Garin, Thanasi Kokkinakis, and Jordan Thompson. This is about as even as a matchup can get on paper, but nowhere does Tiafoe have a bigger home-court advantage–even against a fellow American–than he does in the district. He is simply playing inspired tennis.

Pick: Tiafoe in 3

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(10) Flavio Cobolli vs. (2) Ben Shelton

It has already been an eventful week for Shelton. The 14th-ranked American scraped past Radu Albot in three sets, defeated Brandon Nakashima in a pair of tiebreakers, and was one point away from doing the same against Denis Shapovalov when the Canadian got defaulted on Friday night while trailing 7-6(5), 6-6(6-3). Even though Shelton is playing well in general, he needed this success given that his hard-court summer began with an immediate loss in Atlanta to nemesis Jerry Shang.

Up next for the No. 2 seed is Cobolli, who won their only previous encounter 4-6, 7-6(1), 6-2 on the red clay of Geneva a few months ago. Both of these guys are all-court players, so it’s no surprise that Cobolli is also faring well on the hard stuff. The 48th-ranked Italian has earned 24 of his 30 career tour-level match victories in 2024 following D.C. victories over David Goffin, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, and Alex Michelsen–the last two coming in third-set tiebreakers. Cobolli has to be feeling some fatigue, and it doesn’t help that summer conditions in the district are perfect for Shelton’s game.

Pick: Shelton in 3

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