Shelton: ‘I think I really created something special in Tokyo last year’

pTokyo is a special place for a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/ben-shelton/s0s1/overview'Ben Shelton/a. After all, it is the city where last October the big-serving American claimed his first ATP Tour title./p

pNearly one year later, the 21-year-old, who reached a career-high World No. 13 in the PIF ATP Rankings in August, is back where he made his title breakthrough./p

pldquo;It just makes me excited to play here again,rdquo; Shelton said. ldquo;A lot of people talk about the pressure of defending something. I think I play my best tennis in the cities where I have great memories.rdquo;/p

pShelton entered the 2023 a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/tokyo/329/overview'Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships/a just a month after achieving his career-best result at the a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/us-open/560/overview'US Open/a, where he reached the semi-finals. The American entered the Tokyo main draw unseeded and played in the same half of the draw as Top 10 players a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/casper-ruud/rh16/overview'Casper Ruud/a and a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/alexander-zverev/z355/overview'Alexander Zverev/a./p

pWhile both Zverev and Ruud fell in the first and second round, respectively, Sheltonrsquo;s path presented its own challenges. Three separate matches required three sets, and on each of those occasions, the 21-year-old began the match by losing the opening set./p

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pIn addition to winning his first title, the American believes that his thrilling run in Tokyo in 2023 him more fans in Japan./p

pldquo;My practice courts have been packed so far this year. I think I really created something special in Tokyo last year,rdquo; said Shelton. ldquo;It was such a cool run for me, and I guess unexpected for me.rdquo;/p

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pShelton's title defence will begin Wednesday against a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/reilly-opelka/o522/overview'Reilly Opelka/a. While Shelton defeated Opelka in two tie-breaks in the first round of the recent a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/cincinnati/422/overview'Cincinnati Open/a, the 21-year-old is expecting another stern challenge from his American countryman. This will be their second Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting./p

pldquo;You play a seven-footer who can make the ball do tricks. Itrsquo;s difficult. You are not going to feel comfortable out there on the court,rdquo; Shelton noted. ldquo;Obviously we are good friends. I was able to get it done in Cincinnati, but Irsquo;m not expecting itrsquo;ll be an easy one.rdquo;/p

p[NEWSLETTER FORM]/p