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Ben Shelton of the United States beat Aslan Karatsev 7-5, 6-1 in the final of the Japan Open on Sunday, Oct. 22. It was the 21-year-old American's maiden ATP title and also catapulted him into a career-high ranking of 15th in the world.
The match lasted for less than two hours, as Shelton asserted his supremacy in the match. Karatsev fought well in the first set but was found wanting considerably in the second.
Shelton, being more than a decade younger than the Russian, also gained an advantage thanks to his better fitness levels. Karatsev looked somewhat jaded towards the latter stages of the match which helped Shelton's cause, as he won the second set at a canter.
On that note, let us take a look at two things that stood out in the match:
#1. Shelton's down-the-line forehand won him a lot of points
Shelton's crosscourt forehand was typically directed towards Karatsev’s backhand. However, the Russian held his own with his backhand, which meant there were not enough short balls for the American to dispatch.
However, Shelton took the high-risk option of going with his down-the-line forehand and executed it really well. He hit a number of winners that way and thereby kept the pressure on the Russian.
The American also rushed the net a number of times to dispatch winners through volleys. He broke Karatsev in the 11th game of the first set and then held his serve to win it and go 1-0 up in the match.
#2. Shelton toyed with Karatsev’s serve in the second set
Karatsev started coming to the net more frequently as the second set began, but Shelton's passing shots made this tactic backfire. Shelton thus got an early break in the second game of the match to take a 2-0 lead.
As the set progressed, Karatsev started hitting his shots with too much power and thereby hit them long. In addition to that, Shelton's down-the-line forehand from the deuce court also left him stunned. Shelton thus went on to break Karatsev twice more in the set to complete an easy win.
Shelton converted four of the six break point opportunities that came his way, while Karatsev was not able to convert the lone break point that came his way. The American won 80% and 78% of the points on his first and second serves respectively, while Karatsev was able to win only 61% and 57% respectively.
