Ben Shelton comfortably triumphed in his first match since the Australian Open at the Dallas Open against Michael Mmoh.
Shelton is one of the most exciting prospects in tennis right now. He had a sensational breakthrough last year that took the tennis world by storm in a way that no one predicted.
In 2023, Shelton reached the quarterfinal of the Australian Open, semifinal of the US Open and then won his first ATP title in Tokyo in October. It meant he finished the year inside the Top 20.
However, the 21-year-old had a slight setback at this year's Australian Open. He lost an enthralling third-round match in the fifth set to the French veteran Adrian Mannarino, who played some inspired tennis to beat him.
His appearance in the Dallas Open draw was one of the biggest highlights for tennis fans. Shelton did not disappoint the spectators and produced an excellent performance in his first contest since the Australian Open against Michael Mmoh.
Mmoh paid the price for a slow start on his serve. He immediately handed Shelton three break points, and although he managed to save two of them, the US Open semifinalist took the third opportunity to go 2-0 up.
Shelton was utterly dominant on serve for the rest of the set. The 21-year-old lost just three points on serve, which meant the single break was all that he needed to take the opening set 6-3.
In the second set, Mmoh started more confidently with two holds of serve. Yet, he was still getting absolutely no chances on Shelton's serve, and it felt inevitable that the pressure would build again.
This happened in the fifth game of the third set. Shelton only needed one break point chance on this occasion. He broke after Mmoh put a forehand into the net.
There was no way back for Mmoh after that. His younger compatriot broke once more at 5-3 to seal a 6-3 6-3 victory. Shelton did not face a break point throughout the match. He will be tough to stop in Dallas, as well as in the Indian Wells Open draw in this kind of form.
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