Ben Shelton is confident he can retain his Japan Open crown after kickstarting his title defence with a victory over fellow American Reilly Opelka in three sets. (More Tennis News)
Shelt🔴on, who captured his maiden tour-level trophy a year ago in Tokyo, came from a set down to win 3-6 6-1 6ꦍ-4 in an hour and 47 minutes on Thursday.
He came into the comp🦋etition off the back of a victory over Daniil Medvedev at the Laver Cup, though Team World went on to lose the tournament in Berlin.
H🐓owever, with consecutive wins under his belt, the 21-year-old American believes his previous success in﷽ Tokyo will stand him in good stead this time around.
🔯"I have a lot of love for this tournament and this city," Shelton said. "I have a lot of confidence. Being here and knowing the situations I have come through in this exact stadium, in the most im☂portant moments."
"I think it was a tough start. I felt like I was struggling a little bit and getting rhythm. I am happy with the way I competed. Breaking serve multiple times gives me a🎉 lot of confidence."
Former Japan Open champion Taylor Fritz, though𒁃, suffered a shock first-round exit in three sets to Frenchman Arthur♕ Fils.
Fils produced a classy performance on his tournament debut in Tokyo, handing th🥀e recent US Open finalist a 6-4 6-3 6-3 defeat.
Stefanos Tsitsipas was another big name to suffer a 🀅shock deꦫfeat, as he lost 4-6 6-1 6-2 to Alex Michelsen.
Holger Rune, however, booked his place🍬 in the next round, but was pushed all the way by Alejandro Tabilo, eventually prevailing 6-2 5-7 6-4 in the decider.
Up next for the Dane i❀s wildcard Yoshihito Nishioka.
