Ben Shelton recorded his first win since bowing out of the US Open with a shoulder injury, the sixth-seeded American in a heartbreaking 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 to this year’s ATP Finals in Turin this week. He is currently sixth in the race.
What was the difference in Tuesday’s clash?
“One point, honestly one shot,” Shelton said. “The margins were so close. It could have gone either way. He had the match on his racquet and then I held it on mine. I think early in the tournament, especially on a fast court like this, you’re going to see a lot of close matches. You have to be able to hang in there mentally and stay tough, and I did a great job of that today.”
Indeed, Majchrzak did all but close out the win. He had two match points in the final set tiebreaker and missed a long volley. It is he who can give the 29-year-old world no.70 nightmares for the next few days.
Credit Shelton for finishing the match from there. The American, ranked 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 him credit. He served really well and handled my serve really well, he played really hard from the baseline and good at the net as well. It was a tough match, I knew it was going to be a tough match. It’s the first match I’ve won since I got hurt and I was really happy to get a little bit of momentum going here.”
Shelton withdrew in the third round at the US Open with a shoulder injury. He lost in straight sets to David Goffin on his return to the tournament. Even if he lost today, he said he liked his effort and feels like he’s slowly gaining traction for the home leg of the 2025 season.
“It’s huge for me,” Shelton said. “When you’re trying to find your rhythm again, it can be difficult at the end of the tennis season. When you’re playing guys who are fit and you’ve had a few weeks off and you’ve lost a bit of rhythm.
“Even if the game was a loss today, I was happy with the way I competed and played.”
In other action on Tuesday in Basel, 2025 champion Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard was edged 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 highly-anticipated second-round tilt.
Denis Shapovalov defeated Marcos Giron, Valentin Royer defeated Raphael Collignon, Reilly Opelka beat Sebastian Baez and Marin Cilic knocked off David Goffin in other action Tuesday in St. Louis. Jakobshalle in Basel.
