ATP Tour

Basilashvili holds firm to upset Shelton in Rome

Nikoloz Basilashvili earned an impressive win at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Saturday when he upset World No. 6 Ben Shelton 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-3 to reach the third round at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Rome.

With the victory, the former No. 16 player in the PIF ATP Rankings advanced to a Masters 1000 third round for the first time since Indian Wells in 2022 and second time on clay after 2019 Rome.

"I was extremely tight from the beginning of the match," Basilashvili said. "For me, it means a lot to have these kinds of matches, especially [against a] Top 10 player. Super happy and I am looking forward to the next match."

In his maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head clash against Shelton, Basilashvili played with high intensity and capitalised on 39 unforced errors from the American. With his two-hour, 17-minute triumph, the 34-year-old improved to 9-24 against Top 10 opponents, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. The Georgian's previous Top 10 win came against then-No. 7 Lorenzo Musetti at Wimbledon in 2025.

Shelton was aiming to bounce back from his second-round defeat in Madrid. But the American was unable to hold out against Basilashvili, who asserted control with his depth and consistency. The 23-year-old dropped serve twice in the opening set and struggled to consistently absorb the pressure from the Georgian qualifier's heavy hitting. There were brief signs of revival in the second set, when Shelton saved a crucial break point at 5-5, 30/40 with a lob volley, before edging the set in the tie-break.

However, the American was unable to maintain that momentum as Basilashvili proved too strong in the third set to seal the upset win. Shelton has now recorded just one win across five Masters 1000 events this season.

The next challenge for Basilashvili at the Foro Italico is a third-round encounter against Brandon Nakashima. Earlier on Saturday, Nakashima defeated Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4, 6-0.

In other second-round action, home favourite Flavio Cobolli earned a milestone win on Saturday when he overcame Terence Atmane 7-6(1), 6-3. With his one-hour, 46-minute triumph, the 24-year-old advanced to the third round in the Italian capital for the first time.