Ben Shelton sinks Ugo Humbert at AO | ATP tour | Tennis

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Shelton wins ‘lefties on Laver’, sinks Humbert at Australian Open

Musetti rises, Baez is in good form and outplays Mpetshi Perricard, Fonseca falls
January 20, 2026

Ben Shelton, semifinalist in 2025, returned to work in style at the Australian Open on Tuesday.

The No. 7 in the PIF ATP Rankings eased past Ugo Humbert 6-3, 7-6(2), 7-6(5) at Rod Laver Arena to add another win to his impressive record at the hard-court major in Melbourne. In a battle between two left-handers, Shelton fired 15 aces and won 78 percent (56(72)) of points behind his first serve according to Infosys Stats on his way to a two-hour, 37-minute victory.

BIG BEN STRIKES AGAIN 🕰️

Shelton passes Humbert 6-3, 7-6(2), 7-6(5)#AustralianOpen pic.twitter.com/DuEpZE2fXn

— ATP tour (@atptour) January 20, 2026

Now 12-3 at the Australian Open, Shelton will face Gael Monfils or home qualifier Dane Sweeny in the second round. The 23-year-old will be full of confidence after acing a potentially tough test in Humbert, who was a finalist in Adelaide last week.

Another Top 10 star, Lorenzo Musetti, also advanced early to the second round on Tuesday. The Italian’s No.5 led Raphael Collignon 4-6, 7-6(3), 7-5, 3-2 as the Belgian was forced to withdraw from the pair’s first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting.

Musetti will next face compatriot Lorenzo Sonego, who raced past Carlos Taberner 6-4, 6-0, 6-3, while another Italian, 22nd seed Luciano Darderi, defeated Cristian Garin 7-6(5), 7-5, 7-6(3) for his first main draw win at the Australian Open.

The man Darderi faces in the second round, Sebastian Baez, dug deep for a memorable first-round victory. Baez arrived in Melbourne after winning 3-0 in the singles at the United Cup and then reaching the Auckland final. The 6-foot-1 Argentinian continued his statement at the start of 2026 by triumphing in a ‘little meets large’ clash with the 6-foot-2 Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.

Baez withstood 30 aces and a spirited comeback from his opponent to triumph 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3 and improve to 8-1 for the year. The 25-year-old has also moved up two places to number 34 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.

Eliot Spizzirri denied Joao Fonseca any heroics at Melbourne Park before 2026 with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory at the 1573 Arena. A year after Fonseca stunned Andrey Rublev in his Grand Slam main draw debut, Spizzirri eased past the Brazilian 6-4, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 to set up a meeting with Luca Nardi or Wu Yibing.