Ben Shelton made a triumphant return to the scene of his ATP Masters 1000 breakthrough Sunday at the Western & Southern Open.
The #NextGenATP star prevailed 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 in an all-American battle with Christopher Eubanks to book his spot in the second round in Cincinnati. Shelton was clinical with his chances in his second Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Eubanks, converting two of the three break points he earned for a two-hour, two-minute win.
Shelton was No. 229 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings when he defeated Lorenzo Sonego on his Masters 1000 debut a year ago in Ohio. He backed that win up by upsetting then-World No. 5 Casper Ruud in straight sets in the second round, and the American has since risen as high as World No. 35.
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There was an added mental challenge to his win on Sunday. Shelton and Eubanks will compete together in the doubles draw this week at the Lindner Family Tennis Center, and the World No. 41 admitted that facing his good friend did not make things easy as he looked to back up his 2022 Cincinnati heroics.
“I’m really happy to be back and happy to be through to the second round,” said Shelton in his on-court interview. “It’s really tough. We were actually practising together when the draw came out. It’s always tough to play a friend and your doubles partner. I thought we played a really good level today.”
Now 12-19 for the season, Shelton will take on fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round as he looks to continue his charge towards 2023 Next Gen ATP Finals qualification. The lefty is currently fifth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Next Gen Race as he seeks a spot at the season-ending 21-and-under event.
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