Canadian Open: Carlos Alcaraz beats Ben Shelton in opener

Canada, Aug 10 (IANS) World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz made his Toronto debut on Centre Court against promising American Ben Shelton, winning in straight sets, here.

Alcaraz has played once before in the Canadian Masters 1000 event, last summer in Montreal, falling in his opener to Tommy Paul. This year he is very much a favourite and judging by the response of the fans here it would be a real thrill to see him still standing come Sunday, reports nationalbankopen.com.

Centre Court was jam-packed for the match and Alcaraz received a thunderous ovation as he walked out. Shelton tested him early and stayed with the Spaniard throughout the match and although Alcaraz prevailed 6-3, 7-6(3), it was a closely contested affair. Each player had three break opportunities during the encounter with Alcaraz converting once in the opening set.

Shelton impressed with his booming serve that regularly passed the 230 kph mark and for a big man displayed great foot speed too.

Alcaraz meanwhile summed up his first Toronto experience as follows, “It was really, really good. Honestly, I enjoyed a lot my first match here in Toronto. It seems like I’ve played here for many, many years.”

He will next face 15th seed Hubert Hurkacz on Thursday evening.