MELBOURNE, Jan 20 (Reuters) – American eighth seed Ben Shelton beat Ugo Humbert 6-3 7-6(2) 7-6(5) in an engrossing battle of lefthanders at Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday to reach the second round of the Australian Open.
Shelton, who lost to eventual champion Jannik Sinner in last year’s semi-finals, relied on his power to blast through the first set but the Frenchman fought back from a break down twice in the second.
Shelton reasserted himself in the tiebreak, however, as his opponent’s razor-sharp returns deserted him and he made several errors.
The third set was neck and neck all the way, with Humbert taking a 3-0 lead in the tiebreak before Shelton clawed his way back to book a spot in the second round.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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