Shelton Secures Opening Win For Team World At 2023 Laver Cup

| by Erik Virostko

The 2023 Laver Cup is underway, and it started really well for Team World as Ben Shelton managed to beat Arthur Fils in straight sets.

After Team World won their first Laver Cup last year, the team had only one mission this year in Vancouver, on their home soil - to defend the title, and win the first one in front of the "World" crowd, in this case, the Canadian crowd.

As usual, matches on Day 1 of the Laver Cup are worth one point, and it was World's Shelton who took on Europe's Fils for the first point at the 2023 Laver Cup, in a match of two debutants at the popular competition.

The Frenchman was initially nominated as an alternate, but after a few withdrawals, he made his way into the team, and he had a chance to show why he deserved the spot against the American.

But Shelton also wanted to show that he wanted to be the guy who would guide Team World toward their second victory, and he certainly proved that he could be the guy, delivering yet another serving masterclass.

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It was actually a masterclass from both players in the opening set of the match, when Shelton held all of his first three service games to love, while the Frenchman lost only one point on his serve in the opening three games.

Both then showed signs of slowing down, but there was no slowing down in the tie-break, as there were no break points offered in the opening set of the first tie of the 2023 Laver Cup in Vancouver.

Fils sprinted into a 4-1 lead after getting a mini-break in the tie-break, but Shelton, determined to fight back, won six consecutive points to turn around the tie-break and win it 7-4 to take the first set.

Riding on the momentum from the opening set, Shelton created break point chances in every single one of his opponent's service games in the second set, while he remained flawless when it came to serving.

After using two of five break points, Shelton had everything he needed to seal the first point for Team World, beating Fils 7-6(4), 6-1 to kick-off the 2023 Laver Cup in Vancouver.

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