In a thrilling opening-round clash at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, Italian tennis sensation Jannik Sinner held his ground to secure a hard-fought victory against Ben Shelton. The match, characterized by powerful exchanges, witnessed Sinner prevailing with a final score of 7-6(2), 7-5 after a gripping one-hour and 44-minute encounter.
Sinner’s performance was nothing short of impressive, striking an impressive 28 winners while committing just six unforced errors throughout the match. This stellar display helped him avenge his recent loss to Shelton in the Shanghai fourth round just two weeks prior.
Reflecting on the intense contest, Sinner acknowledged the challenge posed by his opponent, stating, “It was a very tough match. He always serves really well, and today was obviously the same. He is confident, he is a very tough player to beat. I was looking forward to it. I lost the last matchup, so I’m happy that I won this one. I’m already looking forward to the next one.”
Notably, Shelton, who arrived in Austria after securing his maiden ATP Tour crown in Tokyo, displayed remarkable resilience, even though fatigue appeared to affect his performance in the second set. The first set’s intensity was settled in a tie-break, with Sinner elevating his level at a crucial juncture. The Italian also had to fend off four break points during the match.
Sinner’s sharp returning skills, particularly against Shelton’s second serves, proved pivotal. He won 53 percent of return points on second deliveries, and a lack of first serves from Shelton became a significant factor as Sinner secured the only break of the match at 5-5 in the second set.
With this victory, the 22-year-old Sinner, who has already secured direct qualification for the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals for the first time, now sets his sights on fellow countryman Lorenzo Sonego in the next round. Sinner holds a commanding 3-0 lead in their head-to-head encounters, all of which occurred earlier in this season.
Sinner in Vienna, ranking, and results in 2023
WWWWWWWWWW Now ranked no.4 (career-high), Sinner has managed to achieve a compiled 52-14 match record in 2023. Sinner is playing in Vienna where he toppled the world no.15 Ben Shelton 7-62 7-5.
Jannik Sinner will play the world no.52 Lorenzo Sonego in the 2nd round on Thursday at 5:30 pm on CENTER COURT. Their actual record is 3-0 for Sinner.
Sinner has won 3 titles in 2023 in Montpellier, Toronto and Beijing. Sinner got to the final in Rotterdam (ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament) and in Miami (Miami Open).
Sinner won 10 titles in his career: 4 on hard courts, 1 on clay courts and 5 on indoor courts. (See the list of his titles)
Sinner has scheduled to compete next in Paris (Rolex Paris Masters). He will begin to play the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 30th of October.
Ben Shelton in 2023
Ranked no.15 (career-high), Ben played his last match on the 25th of October when he was defeated by world no.4 Jannik Sinner 7-6(2) 7-5 in the 1st round in Vienna (draw).
This season the American owns a compiled 28-25 record. This year, the American won 1 tournament in Tokyo.
Shelton has scheduled to compete next in Paris (Rolex Paris Masters). He will start from the main draw that will commence on the 30th of October.
Jannik Sinner and Ben Shelton clashed against each other only 2 times. Their current head to head is 1-1. Previously, the last time they played each other, Jannik Sinner won 7-6(2) 7-5 in the 1st round in Vienna (Erste Bank Open) on the 25th of October 2023.
Here the video highlights.
Jannik Sinner and Ben Shelton |
| Embed from Getty Images |
