Ben Shelton recovered to defeat Kamil Majchrzak 6-7(2) 6-3 7-6(7) as he set out to keep his place in the ATP Finals draw where he currently stands at sixth in the standings.
It was such tight margins. He had the match on his racket and then I had it on mine Ben Shelton
He was forced to retire with a shoulder injury in New York and on his return to the tour, lost in his opening round in Shanghai so his victory in Vienna will be a confidence booster, especially as he fended off two match points in the process.
The 23-year-old was not at his best against the Pole but found his trademark fighting spirit in the closing stages, saving those match points in the third set tie-break from 4-6, eventually converting on his second opportunity to advance after two hours and 43-minutes.
Shelton, a Basel finalist a year ago, will next face Jaume Munar who progressed after defeating Swiss qualifier Remy Bertola 6-2 6-4.
“It was such tight margins. He had the match on his racket and then I had it on mine,” Shelton said. “Early in a tournament, on a court as fast as this, you are going to see a lot of matches of fine margins and you need to stay there mentally and stay tough and I did a great job of that.
“He served great, dealt with my serve great and played tough from the baseline. It is the first match that I have won since getting injured and I am just really happy I was able to get some momentum.”
The lefty replied when asked about his first win since the injury: “It is huge for me When trying to find your rhythm again, it can be tough. As a tennis player, when you are playing guys at the end of the season in form and you have taken some weeks off and have lost some rhythm [it’s tough], but I did a great job in my preparation for this tournament to get to a place where I could be competing.”
Joao Fonseca working up the rankings
(Photo by Joris Verwijst/BSR Agency/Getty Images)
Earlier, Joao Fonseca defeated defending champion Giovanni Mpteshi Perricard 7-6(6) 6-3 to become the youngest match winner at the event since Denis Shapovalov in 2017.
The 19-year-old has enjoyed an impressive first full season on the Tour winning his first professional title in Buenos Aires and subsequently breaking into the top 50.
In other action Marin Cilic overcame Belgian Lucky Loser David Goffin 7-6(9) 7-5 to reach the second round. The Croatian will next meet fifth seed Felix Auger Aliassime or Gabriel Diallo.
Reilly Opelka beat Sebastian Baez 6-3 6-4 and Valentin Royer downed Raphael Collignon 6-4 7-6(5).
