Ben Shelton lost his first ATP Finals match to Alexander Zverev as the tournament got underway in Turin on Sunday.
Shelton was leading 4-0 and 6-3 in the second set tie-break but contrived to lose and allow Zverev to take the match.
Shelton has been a work in progress for a little while, but he’s done extremely well to qualify for the ATP Finals this year, especially after getting injured at the US Open.
American player Shelton was handed a tough draw for the ATP Finals, and losing his opening match to Zverev doesn’t do his chances of progression any good at all.
Ben Shelton shocked by something Alexander Zverev did
Zverev had some fitness issues going into the match with Shelton, but showed no ill effects of any lingering problems during his win.
Shelton didn’t really have much answer to the German performer, and he richly deserved his victory to get off to a flying start with a straight-sets win in the group stages.
After the match, Shelton admitted that his opponent did something that really left him quite shocked.
He said in his press conference: “Yeah, I don’t think it’s the serve. I think it’s what I do after the serve. I think Sascha is one of the best second-serve returners in the world. How much length he gets, how long his arms are, he can cover the whole court. He’s a very difficult player to serve and volley against. He makes it very, very difficult.
“I definitely wouldn’t say anything is wrong with my second serve. I think that I have one of the best second serves in the world. I think that usually the stats show that.
“A guy like him exposed some things tonight. With me overplaying with my forehand, not winning with my forehand at a high percentage as I would have liked to, I think that’s kind of what contributed to that percentage being a bit lower.
“Only five points is hard to believe. I’m going to go check that later.”
Shelton must bounce back quickly from Zverev defeat
Returning to form with a win won’t come easily for Shelton, given that he has Jannik Sinner, who can’t stop winning and the in-form Felix Auger-Aliassime left to play.
This defeat is damaging for the American, and he has to regroup quickly, especially after throwing away the second set against Zverev.
It’s been a rough few months for Shelton since his injury, and perhaps he’s entered the ATP Finals to merely test things out ahead of 2026 getting underway in a couple of months.
Shelton is only 23, however, and there is still a lot of time for him to continue progressing up the rankings and start picking up major title wins during his career.
This defeat will naturally hurt him but now, it’s up to Shelton to bounce back in a correct manner and put wins on the board to progress to the semifinals.
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