It’s not often that Ben Shelton loses a big serves match, but Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, 21, beat the former Florida tennis star on Sunday to win the Swiss Indoors Basel championship, 6-4, 7-6. (4).
“First of all, I want to congratulate Gio on a great match today,” Shelton said after finishing second. “So many aspects of your game have improved and you are such a great young talent.”
Shelton joked that he almost killed himself trying to return Mpethsi Perricard’s serve. The Frenchman averaged 140 mph on the first serve and 129 mph on the second serve, while Shelton averaged 120 mph on the first serve. It’s rare to see Shelton overpowered, but the ATP rookie was on a mission to crack the top 35 – Mpetshi Perricard started the year outside the top 200.
Despite the defeat, Shelton will return to the top 20 thanks to the 300 points earned for his participation in the final. He will move up to 19th with a chance to improve in his final tournament of the year, the Paris Masters, a 1,000-point event.
Shelton’s draw is tough, though. He will face the lucky loser Corentin Moutet in the round of 16, after a withdrawal of the current world number 19 Félix Auger-Aliassime, then a meeting with the world number 1 Jannik Sinner is looming. If Shelton qualifies for the Roud of 16, potential matchups include top-15 ranked Holger Rune and top-40 ranked Alexander Bublik.
No game time for Shelton’s Round of 16 match has been set, but it is expected to take place Monday night.
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This article was originally published on Gators Wire: Ben Shelton finishes second at Swiss Indoors
