Rune advances after a huge comeback

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  • Fourth-seeded Dane survived Shelton’s 9 aces to take the victory.

Acapulco, February 27th – Denmark’s Holger Rune confirmed his Top 10 status and maturity with a comeback win over American (US) Ben Shelton. Current world number 10 in the ATP ranking had a hard-earned victory as he needed three sets to overcome the inspired American who stood up to him at the GNP Seguros Arena.

Rune and Shelton delighted the fans who were present to witness what could be one of the most important duels in the future. The 19 and 20 year olds, respectively, competed for more than 2 hours in an exciting match.

The first set could have gone either way. Rune and Shelton reached the tiebreak after each got a  break and both had set point in the tiebreak. At the end it was Ben who took advantage of his opponent’s errors taking a 7-6 lead.

The match was split until a 4-4 in the second set. After taking a 5-4 lead with his serve, Rune took advantage of Shelton’s errors to press with his return and eventually got the break and set at the same time.

For the last set, the Dane was largely superior to Shelton, who continued to go from bad to worse. At the end, Rune clinched the win with a final score of 6-7(7), 6-4, 6-2.

“I wasn’t as sharp as I would´ve liked, specially during key moments of the first set. I embraced it and got through; I started strong with my serve in the second set, I played much more freely, a bit more aggressive, I felt at ease,” Rune recalled after the match.

“After that, we played two amazing last points in the second set. I feel like I had a little bit of the advantage and I used to my advantage. My discipline was key in the third set,” the Dane added.

Rune will play in the second round of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC against the winner of the match between Portugal’s Nuno Borges and American Nick Chappell.

RANKING COUNTRIES

UNITED STATES 14

ARGENTINA 7

AUSTRALIA 7

SPAIN 9

ITALY 6

SERBIA 5

FRANCE 9

GREAT BRITAIN 4

GERMANY 3

CROATIA 2

CANADA 2

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