Ben Shelton has made it to the fourth round of the Canadian Open following his victory over fellow American Brandon Nakashima.
After conceding the first set, Shelton fought his way back into the match and clinched the third-set tiebreak over Nakashima to advance in Toronto.
The world number seven has been in impressive form recently, winning nine of his last eleven clashes and showing plenty of improvement.
Shelton said he has been working on his game recently, and explained that part of his improvement has come in his serve, which was already one of the best on the ATP Tour.
Photo by Mert Alper Dervis/Anadolu via Getty ImagesBen Shelton explains how his serve has improved recently
Shelton served up a total of 19 aces in his win over Nakashima, and tallied a first serve winning percentage of 81%.
Speaking in his press conference after the match, he said: “Yeah, I’ve been a little bit more loose on my serve.
StatisticNumberAces19Double Faults8First Serve Percentage62%Win Percentage On First Serve81%Win Percentage On Second Serve59%Breaks Of Serve Conceded1Ben Shelton’s serving statistics against Brandon Nakashima
“I gave myself some room to make some errors, air it out a little bit. I’ve been really aggressive early with my serving.
“I felt like I surprised guys from the jump with my serve, the way that I’m coming after their body, and I think it makes it difficult to get in a rhythm on return.”
Photo by Mathew Tsang/Icon Sportswire via Getty ImagesBen Shelton says he struggled with his service games on grass
Shelton continued: “I think I struggled a little bit on the grass, especially with first-serve percentage.
“Struggling with making first serves, and backing up my second serve, because I was struggling on return points, so it put a lot of pressure.
“But I think the way that I’ve been able to steal points off other guys’ first serve and second serve, and kind of be able to put myself ahead and in a controlling position in a tiebreaker is huge.”
The US star will face Flavio Cobolli in the next round at the Canadian Open, against whom he has a losing record.
In their last clash, however, Shelton emerged victorious at the Mexican Open.