Shelton, Dimitrov, Zverev seal third round spots in Rome

Ben Shelton continued his impressive clay-court season on Friday at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, where he defeated Pavel Kotov 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to reach the third round in Rome for the first time.

The 21-year-old American won his maiden tour-level title on clay in Houston in April and battled hard against Kotov to improve to 6-1 on the surface in 2024.

Shelton struck a big ball from the baseline off both wings and was strong behind his second serve, winning 72 per cent (28/39) of points on his second delivery to advance after two hours and 40 minutes.

The World No. 14 will play Zhang Zhizhen in the second round. Zhang beat Adrian Mannarino to earn victory on his tournament debut. The Chinese star converted all four of his break point opportunities, advancing in just 72 minutes.

Grigor Dimitrov made a winning start to his Rome campaign, sweeping past Yoshihito Nishioka 7-5, 6-4 to maintain his perfect record against the Japanese lefty.

The Bulgarian was pushed for large periods of the second-round clash in Rome but was strong on serve, winning 92 per cent (23/25) of points behind his first delivery, according to Infosys ATP Stats, en route to a one-hour, 39-minute triumph.

"I am happy with the win," Dimitrov said. "It was a difficult match today. A lefty in the first match is never easy. The conditions were the warmest this year. Clay, lefty, so everything adds up, but I am happy to finish in straight sets."

Dimitrov, who arrives in Rome ninth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, is looking to rediscover his best level in the Italian capital, having suffered a third-round defeat in Monte-Carlo and a second-round loss in Madrid.

The 32-year-old advanced to the final at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Miami in March and will be aiming for a similar run at the clay-court event. Dimitrov now leads Nishioka 3-0 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series and will next face Terence Atmane after the French qualifier advanced when Lorenzo Musetti retired. Atmane led the Italian 7-5, 1-0.

Former champion Alexander Zverev reached the third round in Rome for the sixth time, defeating Aleksandar Vukic 6-0, 6-4 in one hour and 21 minutes.

"Hopefully this is just the start. I want to play a good tournament, play a lot of matches and go deep. Giving myself a chance to win one," Zverev said. "That was a good start. Especially in the first set I came out firing and I am happy about today."

The German, who hit 20 winners and committed 17 unforced errors, won the title in the Italian capital in 2017 when he was just 20 years old. The third seed is seeking his first trophy of the season and will next play Italian Luciano Darderi. Cordoba champion Darderi, 22, downed 28th seed Mariano Navone 6-3, 6-2.

Portugal's Nuno Borges and Brazil's Thiago Monteiro also advanced. Borges sunk 15th seed Alexander Bublik 6-4, 6-4 and will next play Tallon Griekspoor or Francesco Passaro, while Monteiro beat Jordan Thompson 6-1, 6-3.