Ben Shelton labels Tokyo comeback to reach maiden final ‘one of the toughest matches in my life’

Ewan West
Ben Shelton Japan Open Tokyo
Ben Shelton celebrates at the Japan Open

Ben Shelton has described his remarkable comeback victory over Marcos Giron at the Japan Open as “one of the toughest matches in my life” as he made his maiden ATP final.

Shelton prevailed in a 6-7(2), 7-6(5), 6-4 battle over his American compatriot in the semi-finals of the ATP 500 tournament in Tokyo on Saturday.

The 21-year-old lost the last seven points of the opening set as he was edged out in a tiebreak, having led 5-3 and failed to serve out the set at 5-4.

The world No 19 then looked to be heading out when he was broken twice to fall 2-5 behind in the second set, before he made an improbable recovery.

World No 79 Giron served for the match twice at 5-2 and 5-4 – and had a 30-0 lead in the latter game – but was unable to create a match point as Shelton earned both service breaks back.

Shelton then saw three set points slip away on Giron’s serve at 6-5, 40-0, before edging a tight tiebreak 7-5 – having trailed 2-4 – to level the contest.

The big-serving left-hander crucially saved three break points to hold for 1-1 in the decider and earned the critical break to go up 4-3. He saved a break point when serving for the match and converted his first opportunity to seal a milestone win.

The rising star reflected on the achievement of reaching his first final on the ATP Tour in an on-court interview.

“It’s a huge achievement for me and my team. Especially the way that the match panned out today. It’s definitely one of the toughest matches I’ve played in my life,” said the American.

“Marcos was waxing me from the baseline at almost every rally and I had to completely change my game up to even have a chance to compete against him. So to be able to get through that match and not only figure things out but get a win, going into my first ATP final, the win couldn’t be sweeter.

“Legs are a little heavy today but they’ll definitely be recovered by tomorrow, I’ll be ready to go. I think, if nothing else, adrenaline will get me through the match.

“I’m really looking forward to it. Two guys who are really good on this slick, fast surface and have had unbelievable wins this week, playing great tennis. But I hope that I can bring some of my best tennis tomorrow too and I’m looking forward to whoever I’m playing.”

The 21-year-old will face world No 50 Aslan Karatsev in the Japan Open final on Sunday. The 30-year-old Russian ended the stunning run of world No 215 and home favourite Shintaro Mochizuki with a 6-3, 6-4 semi-final win.

Shelton continues to back up his surprise US Open semi-final run impressively. First, he played a starring role in Team World’s dominant Laver Cup victory last month.

The world No 19 then reached the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters earlier this month, defeating in-form world No 4 Jannik Sinner in a final set tiebreak in the last 16.

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