Ben Shelton slipped, literally and figuratively, in the first round of Wimbledon on Tuesday. a tournament in which he entered as the world No. 5, No. 4 seed, and top-ranked American.
When the 23-year-old Shelton had a chance to finish off Finnish qualifier Otto Virtanen in the fifth set of a match that ultimately lasted four hours and 21 minutes, he almost scored a split, but caught Virtanen moving to the left and hit a flashing shot to the right.
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Moments later, the 25-year-old Virtanen forced a tiebreaker and outran Shelton. The American once led two sets to one and staked an 8-5 advantage (with a 10-point lead in the fifth set tiebreak), but that advantage quickly evaporated. Unfortunately for Shelton, Virtanen got to the line for one point and scored the next two points, even though Shelton aggressively pushed to the net to no avail.
Shelton then went for match point, but it was Virtanen who ultimately closed out the match, 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (8), 6-2, 7-6 (9). In the process, he became the first player to defeat Shelton in a five-set match at Wimbledon (Shelton was previously 4-0 in that match) and, more notably, the first Finnish player to defeat a top-five seed in a major tournament in the Open Era.
Virtanen, a player ranked exactly No. 140 in the ATP Rankings, entered the day with an 0-3 record against top-10 opponents. He has emerged from his on-and-off relationship with Shelton as a high-profile performer in the bottom half of the now-widely vacant bracket quadrant.
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Immediately after the win, Virtanen was asked about his heart rate.
“I don’t know if I have a heart anymore,” he said in an on-court interview after the game. “I may have been shot out of my body, but thanks to you I was able to play here until the end.”
The audience responded with loud applause and cheers.
Virtanen said: “It’s been a great month leading up to this game. I played a lot of grass games. It’s always been fun to play here. Unfortunately I missed last year with an injury. But two years ago I had a great time here. You know, it feels really good to be back here.”
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Shelton is still aiming for his first Grand Slam title, but he withdrew from back-to-back majors early. At this year’s French Open, he lost in straight sets to Belgian Raphael Collignon 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 at Roland Garros last month, and was eliminated in the second round. .
Shelton had a bright chance to advance at Wimbledon this year. First, his powerful serve is effective even on grass. Additionally, he was on opposite sides of the same draw with Italy’s Jannik Sinner and Serbia’s Novak Djokovic. And to make matters worse, he had his own quadrant, with Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz out with a lingering wrist injury. .
America’s attention will turn to No. 6 seed Taylor Fritz and No. 17 seed Francis Tiafoe.
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Meanwhile, Virtanen will face England’s Arthur Ferry in the second round on Thursday. Virtanen saved 11 of 12 break points against Shelton on Tuesday, including a pair, despite trailing 4-3 in the fifth set.
His resilience never wavered. He persevered and moved on.
