Ben Shelton had to wait a few days to finally step out on the courts at the 2024 Miami Open, but he made it a quick process once he did, winning in two sets.
It's been a few rainy days in Miami, so the American had to wait a few days to finally play his first match at the second ATP Masters 1000 event of the year. He grew up in Florida, so this event is rather special to him, and he wants to do well.
This first match was certainly a very good performance, but he also had a pretty good draw. He got Martin Landaluce, who is an up-and-coming player who lacks experience on this level.
Certainly, taking on Shelton at a Masters event was a tough task for him, and he couldn't manage the level well. He did fine, but it was pretty clear that Shelton was a few levels above him, and he largely cruised through the match.
The opening set went 6-3 to Shelton, who dominated it. Much of that had to do with his serve, which the Spanish youngster struggled with. The American lost only five points behind his serve in the opening set and didn't allow a single break point.
Landaluce allowed only one, and Shelton immediately converted it. The quickness of the court simply suits Shelton's style, and he used that to his advantage.
The second set was quite similar to the previous set as both players were quite stable on their serve, but eventually, Shelton did create break chances. He would use one of those to take a 4-3 lead and then hold his serve for the 5-3 lead.
From there, it was rather simple to finish off the match, as he was just too strong on his serve. Shelton finished with seven aces and 22 winners, so it was a really good performance from him. The final score was 6-3, 6-4.
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