No 3 seed Shelton crashes out of Brisbane International

No 3 seed Ben Shelton has failed to back up his strong finish to the 2023 season, losing in his opening match of 2024 at the Brisbane International presented by Evie to world No 39 Roman Safiullin 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-3.

Shelton entered the ATP 250 event with a career-high ranking of No 17 in the world, having won his first title in Tokyo last October, alongside making the semi-finals of the US Open and quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters.

However, his issues with consistency returned to plague him in Brisbane, with the 21-year-old unable to get past a wily Safiullin who struck 35 winners to Shelton’s 31, while committing only 18 unforced errors compared to the American’s 22.

It was the serve that surprisingly let Shelton down in the loss, with the former college star usually able to rely on his booming first serve for cheap points. Against Safiullin, Shelton was out-served however, with the Russian making 88 per cent of first serves and saving all five of the breakpoints he faced.

Next up, Shelton will attempt to recreate the scenes of his 2023 Australian Open, where he burst on to the professional tennis scene with a stunning quarter-final run.

Safiullin, meanwhile, will face Alexei Popyrin, who won a marathon three-setter against compatriot Christopher O’Connell on Sunday.

Read also

Bartoli reveals why Djokovic’s isn’t the key factor for his speed

Tennis Majors