Barcelona [Sapin], April 17 : Ben Shelton continued his fine run on red clay on Monday at the Barcelona Open, where he outplayed American Mackenzie McDonald 7-5, 6-4 to reach the second round at the ATP 500.
Shelton converted five of his six break points to clinch a 99-minute victory against the World No. 54 McDonald.
"I thought that this was definitely a good start to the tournament for me. I think that I did some things well, some things I could have done better, and over the next couple of days I'm going to hope to improve on those things and sharpen my game," the 20-year-old Shelton told ATPTour.com.
"I'm happy with the way that I competed today, and obviously playing on a clay court, things are going to happen. There's a little more back and forth and things can get tricky, so I'm happy with how tough I was mentally today and my competitive spirit."
In Barcelona, Shelton will face third-seeded Casper Ruud. When he was still a relatively unknown No. 299-ranked player, the American stunned Ruud in straight sets on Cincinnati's hard courts last August. Shelton understands that he will have to find a way to win without the element of surprise this time around against the Norwegian, who is a nine-time ATP Tour titlist on clay.
"Different surface, different circumstances. I don't think he had any idea who I was the last time I played him, and I know he knows me now. I assume that he'll be more prepared for some of my things I'm going to throw at him and I'm really excited for that matchup," said Shelton, currently at a career-high No. 37 in the ATP Rankings.
Bernabe Zapata Miralles gave home fans something to cheer about in the first match on Pista Rafa Nadal on Monday. The 26-year-old Spard defeated Attila Balazs 6-2, 6-2 to improve to 10-9 on the season and set up a meeting with 13th seed Roberto Bautista Agut in the second round.
Emil Ruusuvuori also won easily in his first match at the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona-1899. In Barcelona, the Finn defeated Kazakh Alexander Bublik 6-0, 6-3 in 56 minutes for the second time in a year. Frances Tiafoe, the fifth seed, will be Ruusuvuori's next opponent.
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