At the beginning, Auger-Aliassime saw himself trailing 4-1 in the initial set, while Shelton effectively utilized the serve and volley strategy, but he managed to recover a break when his contender was serving to secure the set.
Nevertheless, a substandard service performance gave Shelton, the fifth-seeded player, the advantage and the first set victory.
Shelton possessed the solitary break point in the second set, but a progressively self-assured Auger-Aliassime successfully defended it before securing the tie-breaker with a significant double fault committed by Shelton.
The closely contested third set also hinged on Shelton’s serve, where Auger-Aliassime capitalized on his third opportunity to win the match.
“He showed a higher level of performance than I did initially,” Auger-Aliassime commented.
“The match commencement was unconventional, but as it unfolded, I discovered approaches to successfully place returns within the court boundaries.”
