Fourth-seeded American Ben Shelton was upset by Finland’s unseeded Otto Virtanen in a five-set marathon in the first round of Wimbledon on Tuesday.
Shelton, a quarterfinalist at the All England Club last year, rebounded from dropping the first set to take the next two. But Virtanen refused to give in, taking the fourth set 6-2.
The deciding fifth set went to a tiebreak. Shelton had a pair of match points at 8-6 but was unable to complete either after attempting to force the issue by coming to the net both times. He had another match point at 9-8 but sent a forehand into the net following a lengthy rally.
After Virtanen used a strong serve to set up his own match point, Shelton sent a forehand wide at 10-9 to seal the upset.
Virtanen’s 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (8), 6-2, 7-6 (9) victory took four hours and 21 minutes to complete. The 25-year-old already has equaled his best result in a Grand Slam event, having also reached the second round at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2024.
He has an opportunity to set a new career best in the second round, where he will face Britain’s unranked Arthur Fery.
Meanwhile, it’s a massive disappointment for the 23-year-old Shelton, who entered Wimbledon as the highest-ranked American and tied for the fourth-shortest title odds in the men’s draw. The highest-seeded potential opponent in his quarter of the draw was No. 15 Jakub Mensik, who he wouldn’t have faced until the fourth round.
Shelton won the Boss Open earlier this month, where he topped fellow American Taylor Fritz in the final. Fritz returned the favor by beating Shelton in the quarterfinals of the Wortmann Open leading up to Wimbledon.
–Field Level Media
