Ben Shelton of USA celebrates a point. Photo: Alan Lee / www.photosport.nz
It's the business end of the men's tournament, but while some of the seeds have failed to grow in the Auckland sunshine, there are still some big names in contention for this year's title. One of them is packing a weapon big enough to do some damage to the back walls of the court.
It doesn't matter how good a tennis player you are, there's not much you can do about a perfect serve hitting the T. That's what Hungarian Fabian Maroszan found out the hard way on centre court on Wednesday, when top seeded American Ben Shelton stuck to a gameplan of sending down as many demoralising missiles as he could in a 6-3 6-4 win.
Shelton, who had enjoyed a first round bye, started a little slowly and was broken in his first game. However, by the middle of the set he was in control, sending an audible shudder through the crowd when one of his aces was clocked at 234 km/h. By the time the match had reached set point, Shelton was loading up on his second serves too, determined to prove a point to Maroszan that he wasn't safe from harm no matter what the situation.
This was a statement from the big-serving American, sounding out a warning to today's opponent Roberto Carballes Baena from Spain. Carballes Baena made it through after a win over fellow countryman and former two-time ASB Classic winner Roberto Bautista Agut, but will head into this quarterfinal as the underdog.
Not that such matters are on Shelton's mind, however.
"These tournaments, everyone is so close in rankings. The difference between being seeded and not seeded is like this," he said post-match while making a tiny gap between his thumb and forefinger.
"I don't look at a guy and say, 'oh he's seeded fifth…oh tough match' and see a guy who's not and then I have an easy match. I don't think like that at all. Everyone's in here for a reason and the margins in tennis are very small, with ranking spots and points…the guys who are in the quarterfinals have been playing the better tennis."
It's a good frame of mind to be in, and it certainly applies to the opening match of the day between France's Alexandre Muller and Taro Daniel of Japan. Only two ranking spots separate them, with this a big opportunity for both to pick up some decent points to kick off the 2024 season.
Cameron Norrie of Great Britain plays a shot during his singles match at the ASB Classic tennis tournament in Auckland. Photo: Andrew Cornaga/Photosport
Later on, Cam Norrie's quest to win his home tournament for the first time continues with a match against Chilean qualifier Alejandro Tabilo. Norrie is coming off a three-set win last night in front of a packed house at Stanley Street, giving the Auckland-raised 28-year-old a thunderous reception every time he sent down a winner against talented French qualifier Luca van Assche.
"I thought it was a really tough match and I'm really happy with the way I responded," Norrie said.
"We were both moving really well, and it was a really physical match, I was expecting that. I was able to be a bit more accurate with my forehand and kept him guessing in that third set."
The evening session quarterfinal sees unseeded German Daniel Altmaier with a tough job on his hands against in form French sixth seed Arthur Fils. Altmaier was impressive in his upset win over Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime on Wednesday, saying that it was "one of the best matches I've played".
"I never gave up in the beginning…but I wasn't there with the quality of the shots. So the match went fast and I quickly found the chance to be active and show my aggression."
Singles order of play, starting at midday:
- Alexandre Muller (FRA) vs Taro Daniel (JPN)
- [1] Ben Shelton (USA) vs Roberto Carballes Baena (ESP)
- Alejandro Tabilo (CHI) vs [2] Cam Norrie (GBR)
After 6.30 pm
- [6] Arthur Fils (FRA) vs Daniel Altmaier (GER)
