Shelton misses chance to push Turin claim with loss to Goffin in Shanghai
Ben Shelton missed the opportunity to boost his Turin hopes on his return to Tour on Friday, when he lost to former World No. 7 David Goffin in the second round at the Shanghai Rolex Masters. The Belgian earned a 6-2, 6-4 win to capture his second Top 10 win of the season.
Shelton was competing for the first time since he was forced to retire during the third round at the US Open in August due to a left shoulder injury, which he described as ‘the worst ever pain in [my] life’. Upon return, he was slightly off the pace, committing 22 unforced errors to 11 from Goffin, who beat Carlos Alcaraz at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Miami earlier this year.
“From the start, I started to feel really well with my ground strokes,” Goffin said. “I took the ball early, I was returning really well and serving really well, like the first round. I just managed to save a couple of break points, but I think overall I served really well and I played really well after my serve, so I think that was the key to put pressure on Ben.
But at the end it was tough to finish it, but I made it with a good service game, so I’m really happy.”
Shelton owns a 37-19 tour-level record in 2025, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, and has produced some of his best tennis on hard courts this year. The 22-year-old won his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title on the surface in Toronto and also reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open.
Shelton’s hard work meant he arrived in Shanghai sixth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin on 3,720 points and in a good spot to make his debut at the Nitto ATP Finals in November. However, the lefty could now be surpassed by seventh-placed Alex de Minaur (3,355) and eighth-placed Lorenzo Musetti (3,345) in the coming days.
Shelton is currently 1,005 points ahead of 10th-placed Felix Auger-Aliassime, who is the first player outside the Top 8 cut, with ninth-placed Jack Draper sidelined for the rest of the year due to injury. Auger-Aliassime plays Chengdu champion Alejandro Tabilo in his Shanghai opener.
Goffin saved all three break points he faced against Shelton and leads the sixth seed 2-0 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series. The 34-year-old, who is a two-time Shanghai quarter-finalist, plays Gabriel Diallo in the third round on Sunday. The Canadian defeated Benjamin Bonzi 6-4, 6-4.
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