Among the 18 American competitors in the men’s singles draw, Ben Shelton generated significant anticipation. The left-handed player, who reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon last year, secured his first grass-court title in Stuttgart in June and is known for having one of the most formidable serves in tennis.
However, the No. 4 seed faced an unexpected first-round exit on Tuesday, losing to Finland’s Otto Virtanen, ranked No. 140 in the world, by a score of 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (8), 6-2, 7-6 (9). Shelton held a two-sets-to-one lead and had opportunities to secure a break in the deciding set. He even reached a match point at 9-8 in the tie-break but faltered, hitting a forehand into the net. Just two points later, the match concluded with another forehand landing agonizingly wide.
Shelton began the season with high aspirations, having advanced to the quarter-finals at the Australian Open. After a second-round exit in Paris, he rebounded by defeating Taylor Fritz to win in Halle. Yet, he found himself embroiled in yet another intense battle, one he could have potentially avoided. The defeat was surprising given he had won seven of his last ten matches in grand slam tournaments.
“One of the toughest losses I’ve taken, for sure. I got to give a lot of credit to the guy I played, Otto. I thought he played an outstanding match.” Shelton remarked. “I feel like it was an uphill battle all day today. I was pretty off on my serve spot, so I wasn’t getting many free points. I was having to grind through a lot of the games. The guy was playing really good and downhill from the baseline. I think I had 15-40 three separate times in the fifth set. The guy came up with some ridiculous stuff in those moments, really good tennis. Sometimes it happens like that.”
In contrast, Taylor Fritz experienced a smooth match. As the No. 6 seed, he stands as the only American man currently competing who has reached a grand slam final, which happened at the 2024 US Open, and he was a semi-finalist at Wimbledon last year. Fritz comfortably defeated Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic with a score of 6-3, 6-4, 6-3, completing the match in just one hour and 41 minutes.
The only point of concern during the match was Fritz’s outfit. He entered the court donning a tailored all-white Boss suit over his tennis attire. The 28-year-old admitted to feeling uncertain about the combination but concluded he “You show up in a full outfit and get snipped in the first round, you look really stupid, honestly,”
“I think the way I played that first set, I need to be a lot more relaxed and not get as frustrated when maybe I’m not playing my best level,” he explained.
Fritz also expressed concern about the possibility of an early exit, stating, “I managed to sneak through that first set, then kind of free up and play confident tennis. I was happy with the way I was moving. I got a couple slides in, which always I feel is quite important, getting that footing and footwork on the grass court. Looking forward to the next one.”
In other matches, fifth seed Alex de Minaur began his campaign with a decisive victory, defeating Román Andrés Burruchaga, the son of 1986 World Cup hero Jorge Burruchaga, with scores of 7-6 (5), 6-1, 6-0. After a shaky start, De Minaur elevated his performance, showcasing his skills in the latter two sets.
“I think the way I played that first set, I need to be a lot more relaxed and not get as frustrated when maybe I’m not playing my best level,” De Minaur reflected. “I managed to sneak through that first set, then kind of free up and play confident tennis. I was happy with the way I was moving. I got a couple slides in, which always I feel is quite important, getting that footing and footwork on the grass court. Looking forward to the next one.”
Meanwhile, Juan Manuel Cerúndolo, the Queen’s Club champion, suffered an early exit, falling to Jaume Munar in straight sets.
