After losing many matches in the opening round of previous events, top seed Ben Shelton defeated Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan 6-3, 6-4 on Wednesday at the Auckland Classic to get his preparations for the Australian Open back on track.
In his first full season on tour in 2023, the American world number 16 made it to the Australian Open quarterfinals, the US Open last four, and his first ATP championship in Tokyo.
However, the 21-year-old’s season came to an end with first-round exits in Paris and Vienna, followed by another first-up defeat in Brisbane last week.
“Playing against Fabian was definitely tough,” Shelton said after defeating world No. 65 Marozsan in 71 minutes.
“I defeated him in a difficult match in a Challenger event the previous year. It’s awesome to play against him initially since he’s a fantastic player. Even though the contest was enjoyable, I’m glad we won.
Shelton, who hit ten aces, will play Spanish player Roberto Carballes Baena in the quarterfinals on Thursday. Baena defeated Austrian seventh seed Sebastian Ofner 7-5, 6-3, and was one of four seeds to lose on Wednesday.
Eighth-seeded Australian Max Purcell fell 6-2, 6-4 to Japan’s Taro Daniel, while third-seeded Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina was destroyed 6-1, 6-1 by France’s Alexandre Muller.
Felix Auger-Aliassime, ranked fourth in Canada, fell to German Daniel Altmaier 7-6 (11/9), 7-5 in his first singles encounter of the year.
Cameron Norrie, ranked second in the world, defeated French youngster Luca Van Assche 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 6-1 after giving him a fright.
Alejandro Tabilo, a Chilean qualifier who defeated Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp 7-5, 6-3, will play Norrie in the quarterfinals.