France’s world number 56 Arthur Gea stunned Ben Shelton in the third round of the Shanghai Masters on Sunday as the US Open finalist became the biggest casualty of the event so far. Top seed Alexander Zverev needed three sets against another Frenchman, Quentin Halys, to reach the last 16 and close in on the world number one ranking. The 21-year-old Gea beat the big-serving American Shelton 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-3) for the biggest win of his career.
“I got outplayed today,” world number four Shelton told reporters.
“My body wasn’t ready,” said Shelton, who played at the Davis Cup last month following defeat in the US Open final to Zverev. “That’s just the way this tour is sometimes,” said the 24-year-old, adding that jet lag had also taken a toll.
Zverev unleashed a superb backhand down the line to avoid going down 6-4 in the tie-break, but then squandered a match point when he shanked a forehand return.
“He plays unbelievably aggressive and serves incredibly,” Zverev, himself one of the biggest servers on tour, said of his beaten opponent. I did not do that early in my career,” said Zverev. Third seed Shelton forced another tie-break in the second set as the match went past two hours, but faltered as a charging Gea clinched victory at the first opportunity. “This year I have been picking my tournaments and places where I want to peak.
“Amazing, to be honest,” Gea said after his first win over a top-10 player.
