Match Report
Shevchenko adds to Shelton’s Miami struggles with upset win; Zverev cruises
Indian Wells semi-finalist Zverev eased past Damm to open Miami campaign
March 22, 2026
ATP Tour
Alexander Shevchenko earns his third Top 10 win with an upset of Ben Shelton in Miami.
By ATP Staff
Alexander Shevchenko sent Ben Shelton to another early exit at the Miami Open presented by Itau with a comeback victory Saturday night at the ATP Masters 1000 event.
With his 6-7(3), 7-6(3), 6-3 upset, the Kazakhstani picked up his third Top 10 win and dropped Shelton to 1-4 at the biggest tournament in his adopted home state of Florida. The American’s defeat to the World No. 84 is his worst defeat by PIF ATP Ranking since he fell to No. 192 Coleman Wong last year in Miami.
Shevchenko, whose previous Top 10 wins came on indoor hard courts against Taylor Fritz (Basel, 2023) and Holger Rune (Rotterdam, 2024), is through to the third round at an ATP Masters 1000 for the fourth time in his career after reaching that stage in Madrid and Rome in 2023 and Shanghai in 2024.
“It takes 100 per cent to stay in the match all the time against these kind of players,” said Shevchenko, who reached a career-high of World No. 45 in 2024 but struggled with injuries last season. “There was a moment that I was feeling a little bit tired, but as soon as I got the momentum back, I was bringing the energy back.”
After being two points from defeat at 4-5, 15/30 in the second set, the 25-year-old summoned his best tennis in the ensuing tie-break and early in the third set, taking the match to the home favourite with aggressive baseline cuts that blunted Shelton’s explosive game. Shevchenko did not create a break point in the opening two sets but made the most of his opportunity in the second game of the final set, taking the initiative in the rallies and pressuring Shelton into baseline errors.
Until late in set two, Shelton was dominating on serve with a win rate above 80 per cent on his first and second deliveries. He finished with a 58 per cent win rate on second serve, according to Infosys ATP Stats, as Shevchenko made him work to earn every hold in the final set. The Kazakhstani showed no signs of nerves down the stretch, losing just one point in his final two service games and closing out the win with a swinging-volley winner.
“I’m an emotional guy and I love when my team also is pumped. I loved every second of it,” said Shevchenko, who was vocal with his team throughout the match. “When Ben especially is also pumped and I have to play against the stadium, I need at least three guys supporting me!”
Shevchenko will next face 31st seed Ugo Humbert, who defeated Gabriel Diallo 6-1, 6-4 earlier on Saturday.
Third seed Alexander Zverev faced no such trouble against wild card Martin Damm, making a smooth start to his Miami campaign with a 6-2, 6-4 result on stadium court. The victory extended his record for most ATP Masters 1000 wins this decade to 103, also stretching his win streak against players outside the Top 100 to 15 matches and lifting his record against lefties to 40-1 since Roland Garros 2023.
“He’s somebody that’s extremely dangerous, has a massive serve, massive game,” Zverev said of Damm after their first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting. “I’m happy with the match, happy with my level, and looking forward to what’s ahead.”
Next stop 🔜 R3@AlexZverev gets past Damm 6-2, 6-4.@MiamiOpen | #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/ExNpEiWyAn
— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 22, 2026
By dominating Damm in the American’s first match against a Top 10 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, Zverev earned his 20th win in Miami (20-10). He has also reached that milestone at the ATP Masters 1000s in Rome (27), Madrid (25) and Paris (20).
Seeking to improve upon his 2018 run to the Miami final, Zverev will next face Marin Cilic. The Croatian saved a match point to upset 27th seed Brandon Nakashima 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(7) in the last match to finish Saturday night.
