Ben Shelton wins maiden ATP Tour title with Japan Open triumph

Tokyo: Ben Shelton beat Aslan Karatsev 7-5, 6-1 in the Japan Open final to win his first ATP Tour title, here on Sunday.

The American rallied from a set and 2-5 down to come through his semi-final match against Marcos Giron and he used that momentum in the final, where he consistently took the ball early on return to rush Karatsev, triumphing after 84 minutes, ATP Tour reports.

The American is the sixth first-time tour-level winner of the season and the first player since Lorenzo Musetti in Hamburg in 2022 to win their maiden ATP Tour title at a 500 event. He will rise to a career-high No. 15 in the ATP Rankings on Monday, having started the season at No. 96.

“That meant a lot to me and my team. We have been working really hard since the beginning to build my game and win titles on the ATP Tour. I made some deep runs lately. You see the great champions, they finish weeks off. They win titles, they don’t just get to finals.”