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American eighth seed Ben Shelton beat Ugo Humbert 6-3 7-6(2) 7-6(5) in an engrossing battle of left-handers at Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday to reach the second round of the Australian Open.
Shelton, who lost to eventual champion Jannik Sinner in last year’s semi-finals, relied on his power to blast through the first set, but the Frenchman fought back from a break down twice in the second.
Shelton reasserted himself in the tiebreak, however, as his opponent’s razor-sharp returns deserted him and he made several errors.
The third set was neck and neck all the way, with Humbert taking a 3-0 lead in the tiebreak before Shelton clawed his way back to book a spot in the second round.
