For the first time in his professional tennis career, Ben Shelton of Atlanta, Georgia won on the ATP Tour. On Sunday, in the final of the Japan Open from Tokyo, Shelton defeated Aslan Karatsev of Russia, 7-5, 6-1.
Two major reasons why Shelton was victorious came down to the serve and return. Shelton had three aces compared to two for Karatsev. While, Karatsev had four double faults compared to only one for Shelton. The 21-year-old American had six break point opportunities, which he capitalized on one. Karatsev only had one break point opportunity the entire match, where he was unsuccessful.
The 2023 Japan Open final featured two grand slam semifinalists, who reached the final four of their respective majors unseeded. Karatsev made the 2021 Australian Open semifinal as a qualifier, while Shelton made the semifinals of the 2023 United States Open. In both semifinals, Novak Djokovic of Serbia, the world number one was victorious in straight sets.
Over the past week, Shelton beat only one seeded player. That came in the quarterfinals, where he beat the fifth seed, Tommy Paul of the United States, 7-6, 6-3. Interestingly, Paul is another grand slam semifinalist as he made the final four of the 2023 Australian Open.
This was the second straight year an American won the Japan Open on the ATP Tour. In 2022, Taylor Fritz of Rancho Sante Fe, California beat Frances Tiafoe of Hyattsville, Maryland 7-6, 7-6.
Shelton was one of two Americans to win a sporting event in Japan on Sunday. The other was golfer Collin Morikawa of Los Angeles, California, who won the PGA Tour’s Zozo Championship.
