ATP Tour

Faria upsets Shelton in Cincinnati, earns first Top-10 win

Portuguese qualifier Jaime Faria stunned Ben Shelton at the Cincinnati Open on Sunday night, spoiling the American’s hope of back-to-back deep Masters 1000 runs.

Faria started the match hot and never looked back in his 6-4, 6-4 win, taking advantage of a sluggish start from Shelton who was competing in his first match since winning the Masters 1000 event in Montreal on Thursday.

The No. 79 player in the PIF ATP Rankings broke Shelton in his second return game of the match and made life difficult for the American throughout the rest of the evening. It is the first Top-10 victory of Faria's career, which also snapped Shelton's six-match winning streak.

"In these moments, you got to take it all in and just enjoy," Faria said post-match. "It's a very emotional moment for me and my team, and to do it here in front of an amazing crowd and against the home player at night and at an amazing venue just makes it a little more special."

Faria trailed Shelton 1-4 in the second set before rallying off five straight games to seal the match. Shelton had his chances to fight back throughout the evening, but he converted just 1/12 break points against Faria, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

Next up for Faria is a third-round clash with Australia's Adam Walton, who defeated Ignacio Buse 6-4, 6-3 in his second round match on Sunday.

Although Shelton stumbled, it was a strong day for other top-ranked Americans in Cincinnati.

Sixth seed Taylor Fritz moved past countryman Alex Michelsen 6-3, 6-4 in his opening match. Michelsen had gotten the better of Fritz a few times in the past, but the World No. 10 won for the second time in a row to even their Lexus ATP Head2Head series at 2-2. Fritz will face Daniel Merida in the third round following the Spaniard’s 6-3, 6-2 win over Zizou Bergs.

World No. 12 Learner Tien also got off to a winning start in Cincinnati as the American looks to continue his momentum from a semi-final finish last week in Montreal. Tien took care of business with a 6-3, 7-6(4) win in his first clash against Sebastian Baez, setting up a third-round matchup with Frances Tiafoe, who defeated Lorenzo Sonego 6-3, 6-4 in the final match of the day on Sunday.