Ben Shelton keeps on winning as the American turned around the match against Roman Safiullin to advance at the 2023 Shanghai Masters.
This was a highly complex matchup for the American, but he handled it about as well as he could, considering the circumstances. He seemed bothered by a physical issue that required a medical timeout, but he didn't give up and continued fighting.
He was down a set at that point, so turning that around and winning against an in-form player who just bested Alexander Zverev in the previous round is very impressive. Safiullin was the better player in the opening set, as he was far more stable.
Winning the set while serving poorly was a huge win for Safiullin, but Shelton greatly assisted with his erratic play. Shelton played far better in the second set battling bravely for much of it.
Eventually, it paid off as he broke his opponent midway through the set to take a 4-2 lead and he held it until the end of the set. Safiullin didn't play his best tennis as his play became more and more unstable from the baseline.
That culminated at the start of the 3rd set when the Russian essentially broke himself in a way. He was erratic to start, and it would prove his undoing as Shelton was not to be denied after that. The powerful serve was doing its thing, and Shelton cruised to his game.
The US Open run did tremendous things for his confidence, and it was on full display in the first set. He dominated on his serve, finishing up with five aces and 28 winners, and winning the match 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
It's a really good win for Shelton, who keeps building on his resume after becoming a Top 20 player not too long ago. How far can he go? Stick with us to find out.
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