• The American No. 14 in the world won an intense duel against Italian Flavio Cobolli.
• In the Grandstand, Belgian David Goffin defeated Australian Rinky Hijikata in two sets and will be Shelton’s opponent.

Acapulco, February 24, 2025.- Ben Shelton required two tie breaks 7-6(4), 7-6(4) to defeat in a complicated duel the Italian Flavio Cobolli (No. 39) at the Arena GNP Seguros stadium, to advance to the round of 16 of the XXXII edition of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC. 

“I made a lot of mistakes, today was very difficult, I didn’t have everything but I still managed to mix up my game to be able to push gas in the big moments,” assured the current No. 14 after his victory.

Since the draw was announced, the duel between the two 22-year-old talents raised many expectations due to the level of both players. It was a physically demanding duel for both and although the world No. 39 represented a tough challenge for the American in two hours of match, saving four break points in the first set and being superior with the percentage of effectiveness of his serve in the second, Shelton finally showed his best weapon, his serve with 13 aces.

“I feel good, tough match for me, but it shows I’m in good shape and I’m happy to advance. He is a great player, he has great return and for my style of play he presents many challenges” added Shelton, who has a 3-2 record in Acapulco and reached the quarterfinals in 2024.

In the Grandstand, 34-year-old veteran David Goffin advanced to the second round after defeating Australian Rinky Hijikata in two sets and will be Shelton’s next opponent.

With 10 years between the two, they had previously met twice, with one win for each. The last time, in January in Adelaide, with 24-year-old Hijikata triumphing on home soil. However, on this occasion the No. 82 in the PIF ATP Rankings had no chance against the maturity shown by the world No. 63, who did not commit a single double fault in a match that lasted 1 hour and 24 minutes.

The Belgian dominated all the statistics of the match and in the first set alone he had a 77% efficiency in points won with his first serve. Hijikata, on the other hand, saved 10 of 15 breaks and had 5 double faults throughout the match.