MELBOURNE, Jan 20 (Reuters) - American eighth seed Ben Shelton relied on his power and tiebreak prowess to 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 Australian Open second round.
Shelton, who lost to eventual champion Jannik Sinner in last year's semi-finals, blasted through the first set but the Frenchman fought back in the second and third sets to force tiebreaks.
But that was where the American prevailed, counting on his experience from last year when he was involved in eight tiebreaks in six matches at Melbourne Park.
"I thought that I just played two great tiebreakers. I've played a lot of tiebreakers here, a lot of experience, and I think that helped me a lot today," Shelton said.
Shelton lit up the court from the outset, thundering down a 229kph serve on just the second point of the match and breaking early to surge into a 3–1 lead.
One massive delivery struck Humbert flush on the arm, prompting an immediate apology from Shelton, though the message of intent was clear as the Frenchman struggled to deal with the sustained power coming from across the net.
Shelton also produced a moment of brilliance when he squeezed an improbable return between a ball kid and the net post to steal a point, before sealing the set with a crisp crosscourt forehand winner.
Having been outplayed for 75 minutes, Humbert suddenly got the measure of Shelton in the second set as they traded breaks and the American's unforced error count climbed.
Despite being down a break twice in the second set, a resilient Humbert fought back to level but his razor-sharp returns deserted him when it mattered most in the tiebreak as Shelton raced through to a two-set lead.
The third set became a serving masterclass, with both players giving no quarter on their first serves and break points were in short supply as they headed into a second tiebreak, where Humbert jumped to a 3-0 lead.
But Shelton clawed his way back before letting out a triumphant scream as he fired a forehand winner down the line on match point, handing Humbert a first loss in four Grand Slam matches against a lefthander.
"I thought I stayed really calm today... Playing Ugofirst round is a tough draw," Shelton added.
"I felt like I found some of my better tennis later in the match and that's all you can hope for. I'm looking forward to trying to continue this form and make it better and better throughout the tournament."
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
