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In a hotly anticipated Monday matchup of two of the ATP Tour's newest young stars, fourth seed Holger Rune edged Ben Shelton to advance in the next round of Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Acapulco.
In a 6-7(7), 6-4, 6-2 victory at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel, the Danish player won eight of the final 10 games to close out a match that hung on a knife edge until late. Shelton saved two set points before winning the opening-set tie-break, then erased another two at 4-5 in the second set, including one with a 120-mph second serve. But, after rallying from 40/0 in the return game, Rune grabbed his third chance in set two. The final set remained tight until Rune ripped off the final four games from 2-2, propelled by the match point in which he outdid a Shelton tweener with a feathery half volley. After the thrilling exchange, the players shook hands, and they met again at the net soon after, when Rune won the final four games without being pushed to deuce. In sets two and three, the 19-year-old Dane faced no break points, dropping only one point on his first serve. Shelton won 80% of his first serve points in the match, with Rune praising that shot in particular. "I managed to find solutions when it mattered. I had to dig really deep for that break in the second set. In the third set I felt like I was more up. I think I played good overall and it was super tricky match," ATP.com quoted Rune as saying in a post-match. "He has a huge serve. For me it's one of the biggest serves I ever played. He has a lot of weapons. Most of all I'm super happy with how I handled everything mentally," Rune said. In other action, second seed Casper Ruud survived a scare against Guido Andreozzi, rallying past the Argentine qualifier 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(2) to reach the second round. "Confidence wise I have felt better because it is my first match in five, six weeks. You are kind of wondering where your level is at. Today it was a little bit up and down. I played some good tennis but I think Guido made it difficult for me. When you are playing a player like him, it can be sort of easier for him to play without pressure. He can feel free, let loose," Ruud said. Ruud struggled to hit consistently from the baseline, but he persevered, coming back from a break down in the third set to win after two hours and 51 minutes. The World No. 4, who reached the quarter-finals in Acapulco last season, will face Taro Daniel, who overcame American J.J. Wolf 6-4, 6-4 in 1 hour and 47 minutes. (ANI)
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