Résultats impressionnants lors du tournoi ATP 500 de Tokyo

He definitely seems to embrace his new status as a Top 20 player worldwide. Brilliant quarter-finalist in Shanghai last week, Ben Shelton did not have an easy time against the 97th-ranked Japanese player Taro Daniel in the first round of the ATP 500 tournament in Tokyo on Tuesday. But the American managed to find a solution on a somewhat off day to overcome the crowd favorite (3-6, 6-4, 7-6) in 2 hours and 32 minutes of play. In his next match, he will face Jordan Thompson, who defeated Alexander Zverev.

Despite being very sloppy (47 unforced errors, including 7 double faults), Shelton had the intelligence to gradually adapt his game to his opponent. He accepted being more patient during certain sequences in order to avoid getting stuck in an overly offensive tactic that wasn’t paying off. After losing his service twice in the first set, he managed to protect it in the next two sets, before tightening up his game in the decisive tie-break, which he won 7-2.

Earlier on Tuesday, Alex de Minaur also came very close to being eliminated. The Australian, currently ranked 13th in the world and in the race for the Masters, had a tough time overturning the powerful left-handed Briton Jack Draper, ranked 88th in the ATP and coming from the qualifiers, with a score of 4-6, 7-6, 7-6 in over three hours of battle (precisely 3 hours and 5 minutes). Trailing by one set and one break, the Australian had the merit of hanging on. He will face a counter-puncher in the second round, Diego Schwartzman, who convincingly defeated his compatriot Francisco Cerundolo (6-4, 6-1).

This first round wasn’t the easiest on paper. Defending champion in Japan, Taylor Fritz had a meeting with a Top 20 player, Cameron Norrie. But despite conceding an early break, the Californian, seeded in the tournament, quickly got the measure of the Briton in two sets (6-4, 6-3) and 1 hour and 20 minutes of play. In the second round, he will face the Japanese sensation Shintaro Mochizuki, ranked 215th in the world and invited by the organizers, who achieved his first victory on the circuit with an impressive performance against the 31st-ranked player Tomas Martin Etcheverry (6-4, 7-6).

At the other end of the draw, the tournament’s number 2 seed also had a successful start. Facing Yosuke Watanuki of Japan, ranked 73rd in the world and holding a wild card, Casper Ruud managed his game with patience and method. After a close first set, he saved a set point in the tie-break and won it 8-6. Afterwards, he found more precision in his returns and more depth in his shots to win in two sets (7-6, 6-3) and 1 hour and 46 minutes of play against an opponent who made more mistakes than winners overall. In the second round, the Norwegian will meet American Marcos Giron.

If most of the seeded players managed to overcome this first hurdle, that was not the case for Frances Tiafoe. It must be said that the American was not fortunate in the draw, as he was faced with the dangerous and unpredictable Aslan Karatsev. Having a great day, the semi-finalist of the 2021 Australian Open, currently ranked 50th in the world, imposed his dominance over the 14th-ranked ATP player in straight sets (6-3, 7-6) and 1 hour and 39 minutes of play. Tiafoe had a break advantage in the second set, but he couldn’t
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