Shelton subdues Wawrinka 7-6, 7-5 to reach quarters at the Swiss Indoors Basel
Ben Shelton from the United States is on the prowl for his second title of the season having triumphed on the dirt in Houston (d. Tiafoe) in April. Unable to defend his title in Tokyo, his ranking dropped from a career-high of thirteen to #23. The twenty-two-year-old southpaw from Atlanta, Georgia with a win/loss record of 38/23, is the sixth seed in Basel facing the Swiss national, Stan Wawrinka.
Wawrinka, who has won sixteen career titles, including three grand slams, is currently ranked #169, having achieved a career-high rank of #3 a decade ago. The thirty-nine-year-old tour veteran continues to work his way back up the rankings following several debilitating injuries and surgeries.
This fall he has played at an exceedingly high level dispatching Brandon Nakashima, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, and Andrey Rublev at the Nordic Open before succumbing to Tommy Paul in straights in the semis. With his opening round three-set defeat of Adrian Mannarino, he became the oldest player to win a match in Basel.
This was their first tour-level meeting. Wawrinka won the toss and elected to receive. Shelton hit two winners, including an ace up the tee, and held to 30, while Wawrinka hit three consecutive winners, including two aces, and held at love to level.
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The American hit three winners including his second ace and held at love for 2-1 while Wawrinka hit two blistering forehand winners and held at love for parity. Shelton struck four consecutive winners and held at love for 3-2 while Wawrinka opened with an ace and held to 30 to level.
Shelton struggled in the seventh game facing two deuce and two break points but with three consecutive first serves including another ace, held for 4-3. Wawrinka hit two consecutive winners including a serve and volley play and held easily to 15 to level.
Shelton opened the ninth with a winning serve and volley play and while he faced another break point, held for 5-4 with an ace up the tee. Wawrinka serving to stay in the set, hit three remarkable winners including a crosscourt backhand volley on game point to level.
Shelton opened the eleventh with two consecutive forehand winners and held at love with his fifth ace. Wawrinka serving to stay in the set and force the breaker, missed 3/6 first serves including a double fault but extracted a backhand error to level at 6-6. Shelton dominated the tiebreak with three winners including his sixth ace and secured it 7-2 when his opponent overcooked the return.
The Swiss superstar reveling in the applause and cheers of the partisan crowd, served first in the second and held to 30 for 1-0. Shelton donated his first double fault but held to 30 to level.
Wawrinka missed 3/4 first serves but held to love with the one he pummeled out wide. Shelton made 4/4 first serves including his seventh ace and held at love with a forehand swing volley winner.
Wawrinka missed 4/6 first serves but held for 3-2 with a colossal serve up the tee, while Shelton made 3/4 first serves and held at love to level. The 3-time grand slam champion continued to struggle on serve yet managed to hold to 15 with his trademark backhand down the line.
The American opened the ninth with two consecutive errors and faced two deuce and two break points before holding with a spectacular crosscourt forehand. Wawrinka opened with an overhead smash and with a stunning stab backhand half-volley winner, held at love for 5-4.
Shelton serving to stay in the set, hit three consecutive winners including two aces, and held at love to level. Wawrinka opened the eleventh with his second double fault and inexplicably donated three consecutive backhand errors to dump serve for the first time.
Shelton made 3/4 first serves and after a little over 90 minutes, secured victory and a spot in the quarters. It was an impressive, explosive yet poised performance from the young American. He silenced his opponent and the partisan crowd with his diversified arsenal of weapons.
He finished with 9 aces, 1 double fault and won 83% of first and 68% of second serve points. He held his opponent to four aces while winning 42% of second serve return points. He struck 35 winners to 18 unforced errors and saved 5/5 break points while converting the one he earned.
At this ATP 500 event with a spot in the semis on the line, Shelton will battle the top seed and world #7 Andrey Rublev for the first time.
