Rune survives tense battle against Shelton at Acapulco Open

Holger Rune defeats Ben Shelton and advances to the round of 16 in the Abierto Mexicano Acapulco

World No. 10, Holger Rune, had suffered an injury in his last appearance at the Rotterdam tournament, raising doubts about his level of play against American player Ben Shelton.

In the first set, there was a break on each side, and both players maintained tension until the tiebreak. Despite Shelton's slight advantage throughout the match, Rune entered the tiebreak with more force and had two set points that Shelton saved. On his first opportunity with an advantage, Shelton took the first set of the match 7-6(7).

The match remained closely contested during the first part of the second set. However, at 5-4, the Dane found the decisive break to tie and advance to the final set. Both young players produced high-level tennis, and the match was expected to be decided by small details on important points.

Shelton, ranked World No. 41, faltered in the final set and couldn't keep up with Rune's pace. The 19-year-old player achieved two breaks that gave him a 6-7, 6-4, 6-2 victory in a hard-fought match. In the next round, he’ll face the winner of the match between Nuno Borges and Nick Chappell.