Ben Shelton is moving back up the rankings following his opening round win at the Basel Open.
The American reached the round of 16 in Shanghai and fell out of the ATP’s top 20 after failing to defend the Japan Open.
But the 21-year-old is on a mission to end his season on a high and he has made a solid start in Switzerland.
Ben Shelton took just one hour and 13 minutes to claim a 6-3, 6-4 win over Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
Ben Shelton makes Live ATP Rankings surge after Vienna Open first round win
Shelton was in control of his third career meeting against Etcheverry. He was solid on serve and broke his opponent’s once in each set to seal his third successive victory against the World number 36.
This result means Shelton is now back into the top 20 of the Live ATP Tour rankings, which can change on a match by match basis depending on results, rather than weekly.
After Shelton recorded his 38th victory of the 2024 season, he is aiming to finish the year on a positive note and is happy with his game right now.
“I went into the match with a lot of confidence because of the way I have been playing,” he said. “This is the type of surface I’m really comfortable on and my game is coming together really well.
“Two more tournaments this year and I’m pushing strong to the end. I came out and executed a good game plan.”
Umpire makes mistake during Ben Shelton’s Basel Open win
During the sixth game of the first set with Etcheverry down 15-30, umpire Gabas thought Shelton’s return hit the 25-year-old’s leg before it bounced.
Therefore, Shelton was awarded the point which gave him two break points and he won the next point to break his opponent’s serve.
But replays showed the ball touched Etcheverry’s leg after it had bounced, and landed out, meaning he should have been given the point.
Etcheverry claimed just more game for the remainder of the set and though he battled hard in set two, Shelton stayed strong to advance to round two in Basel.
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