Ben Shelton faced a tough defeat against Thanasi Kokkinakis, who played exceptionally well at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals.
The tournament kicked off with high emotions as Rafael Nadal retired after Spain’s loss to the Netherlands, marking a significant moment in tennis history. Germany secured their spot in the semi-finals by defeating Canada on Wednesday.
In the evening, Italy celebrated a victory over Slovakia in the Billie Jean King Cup Finals held in Malaga . Fans might think this was an exciting week for tennis lovers with so many thrilling matches happening.
| Name | Age | Points | Stats 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| us Ben Shelton | 22 | 2,590 | 19 - 11 |
Historic Showdown: USA vs Australia
Thursday’s schedule featured two ties, starting with a historic clash between the United States and Australia. Both nations have rich histories in this competition; however, neither has won recently—USA last triumphed in 2007 and Australia in 2003. Determined to change that, Ben Shelton and Thanasi Kokkinakis took to the court first.
Kokkinakis arrived on a winning streak from an ATP Challenger event where he dominated without dropping a set. Meanwhile, Shelton had mixed results, reaching the Swiss Indoors final but exiting early at Paris Masters before heading to Malaga.
From the start of their match, Kokkinakis showed superior form. Despite Shelton taking an early lead by holding his serve to love, he couldn’t maintain it as Kokkinakis surged ahead winning six consecutive games with impressive stats—seven winners and just one unforced error—clinching the first set 6-1 swiftly.
Shelton fought back fiercely in set two; breaking serve early gave him hope even though he faced multiple break points at 3-2 but managed to save them all heroically! Fans might feel proud seeing such resilience from their favorite player under pressure!
Serving for set point at 5-4 wasn’t easy either; yet again saving another break point allowed him victory here too: leveling things up by taking this second set home 6-4!
As both players entered into deciding third-set territory—their serves became weapons of choice—each hitting eleven aces while defending every break opportunity thrown their way until reaching inevitable tie-break conclusion…
The tie-breaker began favorably for Kokkinakis who led initially thanks partly due mini-break advantage gained earlier during exchanges—but then came dramatic twist when Shelton countered back leveling scoreline despite losing initial service attempt…
With nerves stretched tight like guitar strings across netting tension rose higher still amidst marathon rallying exchange where each had chances seize win only see hopes dashed repeatedly until finally after epic battle lasting sixteen points long—it was ultimately Thanasi celebrating hard-earned triumph over Ben securing Australia’s first point: final scores reading 6-1 ,4–6 ,7–6(14).
Next up promises more excitement as Alex de Minaur faces Taylor Fritz representing US side… What do you think will happen next?
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