Shelton fights past Nava in Munich

AFP | Munich

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American second seed Ben Shelton fought past his lucky loser compatriot Emilio Nava 7-6 (7/4), 3-6, 6-3 in the first round of the Munich Open yesterday.

After rallying from a break down in the deciding set, the world number six will next meet the winner of Alexander Blockx’s meeting with Yannick Hanfmann.

“It’s tough. Not just (playing against) another American, but probably my best friend out on tour, or one of a few,” Shelton said.

“His trajectory has been steep lately, so I’m happy to see the way he has been climbing (the rankings),” Shelton added of the 112th-ranked Nava.

“I know he wasn’t feeling 100 percent today, so I feel bad about that. I hope he gets back to 100 percent quickly, because he’s playing great on the clay.”

The win improves Shelton’s perfect record to six wins from six outings in 500-level events this year as the 23-year-old tries to go one better than last year on the Bavarian red dirt in pursuit of a career-first claycourt title.

Shelton lost the 2025 title- decider to Alexander Zverev, and the German is once again the top seed in this edition of the tournament. He will meet Miomir Kecmanovic in his opening match.