ATP Tour

De Minaur, Shelton snap losing streaks in Hamburg

Alex de Minaur could hardly have faced a tougher opening assignment at the Bitpanda Hamburg Open, but the third seed passed his first test in courageous fashion on Monday afternoon.

The Australian rallied past four-time tour-level champion Francisco Cerundolo 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the first round of the clay-court ATP 500, snapping his three-match losing streak in the process. De Minaur, who had not tasted victory since his opening-round win in Barcelona more than a month ago, let out a huge roar after converting his first match point to seal the two-hour, nine-minute triumph.

“I’ve missed that feeling, that’s for sure: Being able to celebrate after a tough win,” De Minaur said. “It was a great performance today, staying in the points mentally. There were a couple points where I just stuck in and made the extra ball. I cut the unnecessary unforced errors, and it’s an important step in the right direction.”

Despite arriving in Hamburg as the No. 27 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, Cerundolo remains one of the most dangerous opponents on clay. The Argentine is tied with Alexander Zverev for the most wins on the surface (74) since the beginning of the 2023 season, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.

But De Minaur, who spoke ahead of the tournament about needing to go “back to basics” to reignite his form, showed resilience and sharp court craft at key moments to turn the match around. With his victory, De Minaur improved to 2-1 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Cerundolo.

In another dramatic three-set battle on Monday in Hamburg, second seed Ben Shelton showed resilience to outlast countryman Marcos Giron 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(3) and keep his debut campaign alive. The win marks the World No. 6’s first victory since capturing the title in Munich last month, following opening-round exits in Madrid and Rome.

As the first-round contest entered its closing stages, Shelton raised his intensity, adopting a more aggressive approach and relying heavily on his powerful left-handed serve to escape difficult moments. The American No. 1 will next take on home favourite Daniel Altmaier, who eased past qualifier Rinky Hijikata 7-5, 6-2.

De Minaur will next face Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who produced a composed performance to defeat Corentin Moutet 6-4, 6-4. While Moutet delivered flashes of brilliance — including a spectacular tweener lob that could prove a contender for shot of the tournament — Davidovich Fokina stayed steady throughout to complete a polished win.