LONDON — Ben Shelton wasted a match level in a fifth-set tiebreak towards Wimbledon qualifier Otto Virtanen, with the fourth-seeded American calling it “one of many hardest losses of my profession.”
Shelton misplaced 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (8), 6-2, 7-6 (9) on Tuesday, dropping within the first spherical of a grass-court Grand Slam for the primary time in his younger profession.
Shelton, 23, led 8-5 in a decisive 10-point tiebreaker towards his No. 140-ranked opponent and reached match level at 9-8, however made an unforced error after which misplaced two factors.
“I assumed he put himself in a fantastic place to win on the finish. He got here up with a superb one,” mentioned Shelton, who reached the quarterfinals on the All England Membership final yr.
“I did not get many free factors,” the left-handed American mentioned.
“The best way he performed, the way in which he hit the ball, he undoubtedly compelled my palms. He performs aggressively,” Shelton mentioned. “He actually did not make any errors. Towards the tip, even after I left the ball half-dangling, particularly within the final sport earlier than the tie-break, he snatched the winner.”
“Within the tiebreak, I attempted to get as near the online as doable and actually rush him and never let him get off the baseline,” he continued.
Virtanen, 25, superior by the qualifying match and scored the largest win of his profession, defeating No. 5 ranked Shelton.
“It has been a fantastic month. We performed a variety of grass video games,” Virtanen mentioned in an on-court interview after spending 4 hours and 21 minutes on the second courtroom.
He reached the second spherical in his Wimbledon debut in 2024, however missed final yr’s match.
Shelton mentioned he’ll attempt to not let the loss trouble him.
“I am normally the kind of one who will get again on the courtroom or within the gymnasium the following day. Coming right here to Wimbledon, that is undoubtedly one of many hardest losses of my profession. It is the primary time I’ve misplaced within the first spherical right here,” he mentioned. “I did not assume my sport was good as we speak. Issues simply did not go my manner. … I will be proper again on the follow courtroom within the subsequent few days.”
In different males’s matches on Tuesday, this yr’s French Open champion Alexander Zverev defeated Belgium’s Alexander Brox 4-6, 7-6 (10-8), 6-7 (5-7), 6-7 (0-7).
Fifth-seeded Alex de Minaur and sixth-seeded Taylor Fritz have been additionally winners.
Fritz defeated Dusan Lajovic (Serbia) 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 on Courtroom 1. He was initially scheduled to play Jack Draper on Middle Courtroom, however the British participant withdrew as a result of damage.
Info from The Related Press contributed to this report.
