Ben Shelton recovered to beat Kamil Majchrzak 6-7(2) 6-3 7-6(7) as he looked to retain his place in the ATP Finals draw, where he currently sits sixth in the rankings.
It was such tight margins. He had the match on his racket and I had it on mine Ben Shelton
He was forced to retire in New York due to a shoulder injury and on his return to the tour he lost in his opening round in Shanghai, so his win in Vienna will be a confidence booster, especially as he fended off two match points in the process.
The 23-year-old was not at his best against the Pole, but found his trademark fighting spirit in the closing stages. He saved those match points in the third set tiebreak of 4-6, eventually taking his second chance to advance after two hours and 43 minutes.
Shelton, a finalist in Basel a year ago, will next face Jaume Munar, who progressed after beating Swiss qualifier Remy Bertola 6-2 6-4.
“It was such tight margins. He had the match on his racket and then I had it on mine,” Shelton said. “In the beginning of a tournament, on a fast pitch like this, you will see a lot of games with close margins and you have to stay there mentally and stay strong and I did a great job of that.
“He served great, handled my serve great and played hard from the baseline. It’s the first match I’ve won since I got injured and I’m just really happy that I was able to get some momentum.”
The left-hander, when asked about his first win since the injury, replied: “It’s huge for me. When you try to find your rhythm again it can be difficult. As a tennis player, when you’re playing against guys in form at the end of the season and you’ve taken a few weeks off and you’ve lost some rhythm [it’s tough]but I did a great job preparing for this tournament to get to a place where I could compete.”
Joao Fonseca is working on the rankings
(Photo by Joris Verwijst/BSR Agency/Getty Images)
Earlier, Joao Fonseca defeated defending champion Giovanni Mpteshi Perricard 7-6(6) 6-3 to become the youngest match winner at the event since Denis Shapovalov in 2017.
The 19-year-old has had an impressive first full season on the Tour, winning his first professional title in Buenos Aires and subsequently breaking into the top 50.
In other action, Marin Cilic defeated Belgian Lucky Loser David Goffin 7-6(9) 7-5 to reach the second round. The Croatian will next meet fifth seed Felix Auger Aliassime or Gabriel Diallo.
Reilly Opelka defeated Sebastian Baez 6-3 6-4 and Valentin Royer defeated Raphael Collignon 6-4 7-6(5).
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