Match report
Defending champion Shelton wins, Fils upsets high rating Fritz in Tokyo
Paul comes on, Nakashima beats Tiafoe
September 26, 2024
Koji Watanabe/Getty Photos
Ben Shelton is chasing his second title of the season.
By Sam Jacot
Defending champion Ben Shelton made a successful begin in his bid to retain his Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships title on Thursday as he edged previous American Reilly Opelka 3-6, 6-1, 6-4.
The 21-year-old American captured his first tour-level trophy on the ATP 500 occasion in Tokyo 12 months in the past, bettering all through in opposition to Opelka to succeed in the second spherical of this yr’s occasion after one hour and 47 minutes.
“I’ve a number of love for this match and this metropolis,” Shelton mentioned throughout his title protection. “I’ve a number of confidence. I’m right here and I do know the conditions I’ve skilled on this stadium, in a very powerful moments.”
Huge Ben vitality in Tokyo 👊@japanopentennis | #kinoshitajotennis pic.twitter.com/WHOLi8VIei
— ATP tour (@atptour) September 26, 2024
After leveling the match, the eighth seed fired 11 winners and didn’t face a break level within the third set to earn his second straight victory after beating Daniil Medvedev on the Laver Cup in Berlin.
“I believe it was a tough begin. I felt like I used to be struggling a bit bit and getting a rhythm,” Shelton mentioned. “I assumed Reilly served and got here again extraordinarily nicely and that made it tough. Whenever you play in opposition to somebody like Reilly, who can take the racket out of your hand, it’s by no means going to be a simple match. I’m pleased with the way in which I performed. Breaking serve provides me a number of confidence.”
Shelton now leads Opelka 2-0 within the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head collection after beating the previous High 20 star en path to the quarterfinals in Cincinnati earlier this yr. Shelton will subsequent face Argentinian Mariano Navone.
One other former Tokyo champion, Taylor Fritz, was unable to observe Shelton into the second spherical. #NextGenATP Frenchman Arthur Fils produced a cultured efficiency on his occasion debut, beating top-seeded Fritz 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. He then faces a doable popcorn encounter in opposition to Italian Matteo Berrettini.
Fils scored 32 winners to Fritz’s 18 en path to a victory in opposition to the Tokyo titlist in 2022. The chief within the PIF ATP Reside Race To Jeddah additionally received 55 % (18/33) of return factors in opposition to the second supply, in accordance with Infosys ATP Stats by Fritz, en path to a two-hour, three-minute victory on the Ariake Coliseum.
After rising to fifth place within the PIF ATP Reside Race To Turin by reaching the US Open championship match, Thursday’s defeat was a setback to Fritz’s hopes of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals for a second time. The 26-year-old will now set his sights on a deep run on the Rolex Shanghai Masters as he hunts for a spot on the prestigious season finale in Turin.
Shelton and Fritz’s compatriot Tommy Paul made a cushty begin to his marketing campaign on the laborious court docket occasion in Japan. The fifth seed defeated Italian Matteo Arnaldi 6-3, 6-2 to enhance to 15-3 within the opening spherical of 2024.
The 27-year-old arrived in Tokyo eleventh within the PIF ATP Reside Race To Turin and shall be aiming for a deep run to spice up his Nitto ATP Finals probabilities. Paul is at present 520 factors behind eighth-placed Alex de Minaur, who occupies the ultimate qualifying spot. De Minaur is not going to play this week as a consequence of an damage.
Paul, who’s chasing his third title of the season, subsequent performs Tomas Machac after the Czech defeated Australian Alexei Popyrin 6-3, 6-7(5), 7-5.
In an all-American conflict, Brandon Nakashima continued his spectacular latest kind with a 7-5, 6-3 victory in opposition to US Open semi-finalist Frances Tiafoe.
The previous Subsequent Gen ATP Finals, introduced by PIF champion Nakashima, has now recorded seven High 20 wins this yr, with 5 coming since August. Nakashima, who arrived in Tokyo after a semi-final in Chengdu, will play Ugo Humbert within the second spherical.