Shelton survives stern test from Evans in Acapulco, Fritz & Felix fall

It did not take long for the main draw action to pick up in Acapulco. In the first match on Stadium, Ben Shelton survived a stern test from tricky Briton Daniel Evans.

Evans served for the match in the third set after surviving three match points earlier in the set. But Shelton remained calm and found a way into the second round of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC 2-6, 7-5, 7-6(5) after two hours and 45 minutes.

“I’m really glad to come out here and hopefully be a positive light for the people of Acapulco,” Shelton said, referencing the devastation caused by Hurricane Otis. “I wasn't sure how big the crowd was going to be coming out today, but the people really showed out and it just shows the kind of culture they have here in Acapulco, how much they love sport and it just makes it one of the most fun places to play.”

Hear him roar 🗣️@BenShelton records his first win in Acapulco, defeating Dan Evans 2-6 7-5 7-6(5).@AbiertoTelcel | #AMT2024 pic.twitter.com/wHIl29qpaJ

— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 27, 2024

After Shelton played an untidy first set full of errors, he found his game in the second set, creating for an entertaining clash at the ATP 500. Interestingly — and perhaps against what you would expect — Shelton began winning many of the longer points against Evans, who uses his backhand slice and tennis IQ to break down many opponents.

Serving at 4-5, 0/40 in the decider, Evans bounced back to stay in the match. Shelton’s big opportunity came at 15/40, when he missed a makeable forehand passing shot from well behind the baseline.

The 33-year-old broke in the next game, but was unable to serve out the match and paid for it in the ensuing tie-break. Shelton completed his victory with a swinging forehand volley winner.

“Definitely a really tricky matchup for me,” Shelton said. “Dan is a guy that I know well, we have a lot of banter in the locker room and [he is a] guy whose game presents a lot of challenges. So to be able to come out of this first match here in Acapulco with a win after losing the first set is a big accomplishment for me.”

Shelton's next opponent in Mexico will be Matteo Arnaldi, who upset third seed Taylor Fritz 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 for his first Top 10 win on a hard court. The Italian carved out 15 break points in his maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head clash with Fritz, converting four of them as he wrapped a two-hour, 36-minute victory.

“I wasn’t playing my best tennis in the past few matches, so I just tried to get in and enjoy a bit,” said Arnaldi. “I love playing in these conditions, I love to do long matches and stay a lot on court. I love playing night matches. There were a few details that meant I was ready to play, and I just tried to enjoy it and play my best tennis. I think most of the time I did.”

In another American-British match, the Briton advanced. Jack Draper ousted seventh seed Tommy Paul 6-0, 6-4 in one hour and 26 minutes.

It was the third Lexus ATP Head2Head encounter of the year between the pair and Draper moved to 2-1 in those meetings by converting all three of his break points according to Infosys ATP Stats.

Draper will try to maintain his momentum against Japanese lucky loser Yoshihito Nishioka. The lefty rallied past Portugal's Nuno Borges 3-6, 6-2, 6-4.

Top 10 star Alex de Minaur, the defending champion, made a perfect start to his tournament with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Taro Daniel. The Australian, who is at a career-high No. 9 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, beat Daniel en route to the title one year ago.

Next up for the third seed will be Austrian Sebastian Ofner, who clawed past Mexican wild card Ernesto Escobedo 6-7(6), 6-5, 7-6(4) after three hours and four minutes.

In other action, Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic surged past Argentine wild card Diego Schwartzman 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, while the final match of the night in Mexico saw Flavio Cobolli prevail in three sets. The 2023 Next Gen ATP Finals competitor Cobolli beat Felix Auger-Aliassime 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 to set a meeting with fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas or Roman Safiullin.