Shelton continues Montreal title defence
Ben Shelton, the fifth seed, continued his title defence at the ATP Montreal Masters, defeating Zizou Bergs 6-3, 6-2 on Friday. The American’s victory secured his spot in the fourth round of the Masters 1000 tournament. Shelton, who won his first Masters 1000 title in Toronto last year, delivered eight aces during the match and maintained his record of not dropping a set in his opening two matches.
The match, which lasted just over an hour on IGA Stadium’s Centre Court, saw Shelton break Bergs’ serve in the sixth game of the first set, taking a 4-2 lead. He then held serve to close out the set 6-3. In the second set, Shelton broke Bergs again in the fifth game, a break that was aided by a double fault from his Belgian opponent. Shelton secured a second break in the set to move within one game of victory before serving out the match.
The world No. 10 is currently the highest-ranked player remaining in the draw. Only 12 of the tournament’s 32 seeds are still in contention, with just three from the top 10. This marks the first time this season that Shelton has reached the fourth round of a Masters 1000 event, having previously struggled to achieve consecutive wins at the ATP’s signature tournaments.
Reflecting on his performance, the 23-year-old Shelton stated, “It was a good day for me, I managed the match well. He came out serving extremely well. I had to make some adjustments. I found a way to break his serve and kept the foot on the gas when I got the lead.” Shelton will next face either ninth-seeded Norwegian Casper Ruud or 19-year-old Brazilian Joao Fonseca in the fourth round. Ruud and Fonseca were scheduled to play their fourth-round match on Friday evening on Centre Court.
Griekspoor and Merida advance
Earlier on Friday, Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor caused an upset by defeating Matteo Arnaldi, the No. 30 seed and a 2024 National Bank Open semi-finalist, with a score of 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. Griekspoor had previously stunned top seed Alexander Zverev in the second round. This victory marks the fifth time in his career, and the first time this season, that Griekspoor has reached the Round of 16 at a Masters 1000 event.
The match saw Matteo Arnaldi, an Italian French Open semi-finalist, take an early lead. However, Griekspoor, the world number 66, gained momentum with guidance from his Swedish coach Thomas Hogstedt and turned the match around. Griekspoor secured two breaks in the deciding set against Arnaldi, though he lost one before breaking back to claim victory on his third match point after more than two hours of play.
Griekspoor commented on the challenging nature of the sport, saying, “Tennis is such a tricky sport. It’s never over until the last ball is hit. I tried to stay focused, I’m happy with how I managed. I’ve had a good level in practice but was not able to convert it to the match court. Today was not easy but I’m pleased after a win like this. I was far from my best but I’m happy I played myself into the match to win it.”
Griekspoor’s next opponent will be 21-year-old Spaniard Daniel Merida. Merida advanced after defeating American Alex Michelsen 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-1 on Rogers Court, saving two match points in the second set. Merida has been in strong form, winning nine of his last 10 matches since Wimbledon, and this win propelled him into the ATP’s top 50 for the first time in his career. Prior to this week, Merida had not won a tour-level hardcourt match, having arrived in Canada after winning the Umag title on clay in Croatia last month.
Other matches scheduled for Friday evening included No. 13 seed Jakub Mensik of Czechia against Frenchman Terence Atmane, and an all-American matchup between Learner Tien and Tommy Paul. Additionally, Alexei Popyrin of Australia, the 2024 NBO Open champion, was set to face Thiago Agustin Tirante of Argentina on Friday.
Source: hindustantimes.com
