Ben Shelton recorded his first win since bowing out of the US Open with a shoulder injury, the sixth-ranked American comign through a harrowing affair with Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak, 6-7(2) 6-3 7-6(7).
Shelton, last year’s runner-up in Basel, hopes to build his case for qualification at this year’s ATP Finals in Turin this week. He’s currently sixth in the race.
What was the difference in Tuesday’s tussle?
“One point, honestly one shot,” Shelton said. “The margins were so tight. It could have gone either way. He had the match on his racquet and then I had it on mine. I think that early in the tournament, especially on a fast court like this, you are going to see a lot of matches with small margins. You have to be able to stay there mentally and stay tough, and I did a great job of that today.”
In truth, Majchrzak did everything but close out the win. He had two match points in the final set tiebreaker and missed a volley long. It is one that could give the 29-year-old world No.70 nightmares for the next few days.
Credit Shelton for finishing the match from there. The American, seeded second in Basel, improves to 38-19 on the season. He will face Jaume Munar in the second round.
“I felt like he played extremely well,” Shelton said “I have to give credit to him. He served great and he dealt with my serve extremely well, he played really tough from the baseline and well at the net as well. It was a difficult one, I knew it was going to be a tough one. It’s the first match that I’ve won since getting injured and I was really happy that I was able to create a little bit of momentum and get myself going here.”
Shelton retired in the third round at the US Open with a shoulder injury. He lost in straight sets to David Goffin in his return to the tour. Even if he lost today, he said he liked his effort and feels like he is slowly gaining traction for the home stretch of the 2025 season.
“It’s huge for me,” Shelton said. “When you are trying to find your rhythm again it can be tough at the end of the tennis season. When you are playing guys who are in form, and you’ve taken some weeks off and lost a little bit of rhythm.
“Even if the match was a loss today, I was happy with how I competed and played.”
In other action on Tuesday in Basel, 2025 champion Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard was taken out by Joao Fonseca at the first hurdle. The 19-year-old world No.46 scored a 7-6(6) 6-3 victory and will face Jakub Mensik in a heavily anticipated second round tilt.
Denis Shapovalov edged Marcos Giron, Valentin Royer took out Raphael Collignon, Reilly Opelka beat Sebastian Baez and Marin Cilic toppled David Goffin in other action on Tuesday at St. Jakobshalle in Basel.
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