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Ben Shelton welcomed his compatriot Reilly Opelka back on tour after defeating him in the first round of the 2024 Cincinnati Open. Shelton ousted the 26-year-old in a hard-fought two-setter that lasted an hour and 38 minutes.
Opelka, who has been out of action for a year due to surgeries in his hip and wrist, made a brief return to the tour last year at the USTA Pro Circuit in Charlottesville but pulled out after winning the opening round as his wrist pain persisted. He returned on tour at the Hall of Fame Open in July this year and made an impressive run to the semifinals on his return.
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The North American hardcourt swing has been average for Opelka as he has had consecutive second-round exits at the Atlanta Open and the Mubadala Citi DC Open to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Jordan Thompson, respectively.
Next up, Reilly Opelka entered the Cincinnati Masters after receiving a wildcard and was slated to play fellow American and 12th seed Ben Shelton in the opening round. The two men put on a brilliant fight, but it was the 21-year-old who prevailed 7-6(3), 7-6(3) in the thrilling two-setter to reach the second round.
The two men shared a warm embrace after the match and also shared a few words at the net during the customary handshake.
During the ceremonious camera signing, Ben Shelton joked how his match with the former World No. 17 was a 'bot vs bot' match, alluding to the duo being called serve bots due to their serving prowess. Shelton then penned a sweet note for his friend, welcoming him back on tour.
"“Bot v. Bot Good to have you back Reilly.”
Reilly Opelka reshared a video of Ben signing the camera with a robot and a white heart emoji.
Ben Shelton will face Tomas Etcheverry or Matteo Arnaldi in the second round of the 2024 Cincinnati Open
Ben Shelton will continue his run at the Cincinnati Masters in the second round against the winner of the opening round match between Matteo Arnaldi and Tomas Etcheverry. The American has faced both men once in his career and has triumphed on both occasions. However, it is the first time Arnaldi and Etcheverry will face each other.
Owing to Taylor Fritz's (World No. 12) and Tommy Paul's (World No. 13) shocking opening-round defeats, deep runs from Ben Shelton (World No. 14) and Sebastian Korda (World No. 15) can see them overtake Fritz and Paul to take their place as the top 2 ranked Americans.
