Ben Shelton has had an inconsistent year regarding results. Still, the American was able to come back from a slow start against Alexander Bublik and win in two sets at the 2024 Canadian Open.
These two are a fascinating combo to have on a tennis court. Tennis fans got quite spoiled at this year's Canadian Open because not only did they play in singles but also in doubles together at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Montreal.
The two won their doubles match against a seeded team, which is why they'll take on Jack Draper and Jannik Sinner in doubles. Before that match, they had to battle it out on the singles court in an exciting matchup where Bublik had the upper hand early.
Shelton has had a bit of a strange year results-wise, as he didn't really play as well as some might have thought he would. Last year's breakout was amazing, but it largely coincided with the upcoming part of the season.
He did amazing during the US Open stretch, so there is pressure to back that up this year. This match in Montreal was a good start in terms of winning the match, albeit the start itself wasn't that great, as Bublik was up 3-1 early.
After taking that early lead, the Kazakhstani player was able to hold the serve until he led 5-3, when he needed to close it out, but he couldn't as his opponent broke back.
After that, the set ended up in a tie-break that was close, but Shelton was able to outperform Bublik to win it 7-4. It was the best tennis the American had played in a very long time, as he finished with 15 winners in that opening set and only six of those were aces.
Bublik served well but couldn't hold his own in the rallies, making more mistakes, which cost him the set. That good momentum spilled over into the next set for Shelton, as he took an early break.
It largely came because Bublik lost patience and made dumb mistakes. He totalled three double faults in the early goings of the second set, which contributed to his dropping his serve.
Shelton had everything he needed to win that match with that break. The key was to remain calm, serve well, and avoid giving Bublik any sort of look because, as it's known, he can produce some tennis magic at any moment.
The 11th seed was able to do that initially, holding serve for the 3-1 lead and looking very comfortable. Bublik was really not careful in how he played, as he just went on his rampage of wanting to end points quickly.
It made him dangerous, but Shelton could use that to his advantage by remaining calm and letting the Kazakhstani player self-destruct. Breaking again to take a double-break lead would have been ideal, and he nearly had it at 3-1, but Bublik held for the 3-2 score.
Shelton ultimately broke once more, and from there, it was easy for him to cruise to the finish line, winning the match 7-6(4), 6-2.
0 Comments