Ben Shelton began his Shanghai Masters campaign with a victory but admitted he was left surprised by his opponent.
For the third time since July, the 21-year-old was up against the former Canadian number one and once again he emerged victorious.
Ben Shelton took just one hour and 17 minutes to defeat Shapovalov 6-3, 7-5 to advance to the next round.
The scoreline would suggest this was arguably his most comfortable victory over Denis Shapovalov, but the American post-match comments suggest it was anything but straightforward.
What did Ben Shelton say about Denis Shapovalov’s tactics at the Shanghai Masters?
Shelton hit 21 winners and made some successful trips to the net as he implemented an attacking game against the hard-hitting Canadian.
He needed a single break of serve before going on to win set one, and he broke at 5-5 in the second set before successfully serving out a 6-3, 7-5 win.
Having suffered two successive defeats to Shelton at the Citi Open and the Wimbledon Championships, Shapovalov changed up his serving tactics and shot selection from the baseline. This was something that Shelton was not expecting, but he was able to find a way to win.
“I think some of the tendencies and things that I expected, he changed it up today,” Shelton said post-match. “I was looking for a few things and was surprised by some of the things he did on the court.”
Ben Shelton is back to winning ways after Tokyo Open defeat
Shelton commenced the Asian swing by trying to defend his Tokyo Open title.
He reached the quarter-finals on Sunday, but lost a tight three-set battle to Frenchman Arthur Fils, who went on to win the title.
But the World number 17 is back to winning ways in Shanghai as he goes in search of his first Masters 1000 title.
In the next round Shelton will face Spain’s Roberto Carballés Baena, after he needed two tiebreak sets to defeat Fils.
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