Ben Shelton
secured his first win of the season at the ASB Classic, overcoming Fabian
Marozsan 6-3, 6-4 to advance to the quarterfinals of the tournament. The
20-year-old rising star lived up to his first seed status and returned to the
win column after an early exit in the first round in Brisbane.
His
opponent, Marozsan, came into the match with a marathon victory over the
veteran Gael Monfils in the first round. The Hungarian battled for two hours
and 38 minutes to win his first match of 2024 with a score of 6-4, 6-7(6),
7-6(4) and set up a meeting with the young Shelton.
In the
early stages of the match, Shelton struggled with his first serve, conceding an
early break but managed to recover and level the score at 1-1. Despite facing
difficulties with his serve, Shelton seized the opportunities presented by
Marozsan in the sixth game to take the lead on his third break point, making it
4-2. The young American won his next two games convincingly, closing out the
set 6-3.
Although
both players had a first serve percentage of 59%, Shelton won 79% of his first
serves compared to Marozsan's 63%. Additionally, from the second serve, the
American was more effective, boasting a 46% success rate compared to the 36% of
the current world No. 65.
Both
players looked more secure from the service line at the start of the second
set, with the Hungarian winning his first two service games without dropping
points. However, in the fifth game of the set, Marozsan found himself in a 0-40
deficit, and Shelton capitalized on his third break opportunity to take a 3-2
lead and later extend it to 4-2 on his serve.
Marozsan
held firm on his service games, and Shelton, with his powerful serve, didn't
give the Hungarian much of a chance. The American didn't concede any more break
opportunities and maintained his lead to secure the victory in straight sets in
just over an hour.
In the
quarterfinals, Shelton awaits the winner of the match between Robert Carballes
Baena (No. 67) and the 7th seed Sebastian Ofner (No. 37).
