ATP Tour

Shelton wins ‘lefties on Laver’, sinks Humbert at Australian Open

A semi-finalist in 2025, Ben Shelton got back to business in style on Tuesday at the Australian Open.

The No. 7 in the PIF ATP Rankings eased past Ugo Humbert 6-3, 7-6(2), 7-6(5) inside Rod Laver Arena to add another win to his impressive record at the hard-court major in Melbourne. In a battle of two lefties, Shelton fired 15 aces and won 78 per cent (56(72) of points behind his first serve according to Infosys Stats, en route to a two-hour, 37-minute triumph.

BIG BEN STRIKES AGAIN 🕰️

Shelton eases past Humbert 6-3, 7-6(2), 7-6(5)#AustralianOpen pic.twitter.com/DuEpZE2fXn

— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 20, 2026

Now 12-3 at the Australian Open, Shelton will face Gael Monfils or home qualifier Dane Sweeny in the second round. The 23-year-old will be full of confidence after passing a potentially tricky test in Humbert, who was a finalist in Adelaide last week.

Another Top 10 star, Lorenzo Musetti, also advanced to the second round early on Tuesday. The No. 5-ranked Italian led Raphael Collignon 4-6, 7-6(3), 7-5, 3-2 when the Belgian was forced to retire from the pair’s maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting.

Musetti will next take on his countryman Lorenzo Sonego, who raced past Carlos Taberner 6-4, 6-0, 6-3, while another Italian, 22nd seed Luciano Darderi, sank Cristian Garin 7-6(5), 7-5, 7-6(3) for his maiden Australian Open main-draw triumph.

The man Darderi will face in the second round, Sebastian Baez, dug deep for a momentous first-round victory. Baez arrived in Melbourne after going 3-0 in singles play at the United Cup and then reaching the Auckland final. The 5’7” Argentine continued his statement start to 2026 by prevailing in a ‘little meets large’ clash with the 6’7” Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.

Baez withstood 30 aces and a spirited comeback from his opponent to triumph 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3 and improve to 8-1 for the year. The 25-year-old has also risen two spots to No. 34 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.

Eliot Spizzirri denied Joao Fonseca any Melbourne Park heroics for 2026 with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 upset victory on 1573 Arena. One year after Fonseca stunned Andrey Rublev on his Grand Slam main-draw debut, Spizzirri eased past the Brazilian 6-4, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 to set a meeting with Luca Nardi or Wu Yibing.