Stuttgart Open: Shelton starts his grass season well

American Ben Shelton, the No 3 seed, advanced to the last 8 of the Stuttgart Open by defeating French qualifier Pierre-Hugues Herbert 7-6 (4), 7-5 at Tennisclub Weissenhof Stuttgart on Wednesday.

His grass-court season is off to a better start than last year, when he lost in his opening match in Stuttgart. However, he had gained momentum and reached the round of 16 at Wimbledon in 2024.

Ben Shelton scored 25 winners and 14 unforced errors on Wednesday against Pierre-Hugues Herbert. He saved four break points, all in the second set.

“I’m really happy to have my first win here in Stuttgart. I played well on the important points and I felt well on the surface. I hope it’ll be better day by day on the grass. I’ve made progress compared to last year.” said the world N.12 after his victory.

Shelton, ranked No 12, will play the winner of the match between German wildcard Jan-Lennard Struff and No 8 seed Jiri Lehecka next.

Herbert, ranked No 132, benefited from the abandonment of Bosnian Damir Dzumhur (6-4, 3-0) in the previous round of the Stuttgart tournament.

Stuttgart ATP 250, other second-round results (Tennisclub Weissenhof Stuttgart, grass, EUR 751.630, most recent results first):

• Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard vs. Felix Auger-Aliassime
• Alex Michelsen vs. Justin Engel
• Learner Tien vs. Brandon Nakashima
• Alexander Zverev vs. Corentin Moutet
• Jan-Lennard Struff vs. Jiri Lehecka
• Quentin Halys vs. Taylor Fritz
• Marton Fucsovics (Q) beat Arthur Rinderknech: 7-6 (4), 6-3