ATP Auckland welcomes great company. Shelton will attempt a rematch

A week before the Australian Open, the traditional ATP Auckland event is on the agenda. American Ben Shelton will try to make up for his impression from the start of the season in Brisbane. Which other interesting names will try to jump on the winning bandwagon in New Zealand?

ATP Auckland

The Auckland tournament is traditionally the biggest tennis event in New Zealand. Its timing encourages a tune-up before the first Grand Slam of the season. After all, the Australian Open starts in just one week.

In the past, some of the greatest players in tennis history have succeeded here. David Ferrer of Spain has four titles from New Zealand’s biggest city.

Attempt to repeat by Ben Shelton

The number one seeded player in the ATP 250 category is American Shelton. He entered this year as a huge promise of American tennis. But he failed in his first tournament.

He entered the tournament in Brisbane as one of the main favourites but crashed out in the first round. He was eliminated by Russian Safiullin after 3:6, 7:6, 3:6 sets.

In the aforementioned match, he made more unforced errors than his opponent and also stumbled in the use of break points. Of the five available to him, he did not convert even one. He has a lot to make up for in New Zealand.

Other interesting names

In the second round, Shelton may run into veteran Gael Monfils. The Frenchman returned to the ATP circuit last year after a hiatus and has had alternating successes. He triumphed in a smaller tournament in Stockholm and won the scalp of De Minaur, for example .

But otherwise, last year was a search. Will the 37-year-old Frenchman kick-start his tennis rebirth in the new year?

Canadian Auger-Aliassime, on the other hand, is one of the young players. At twenty-three, he already knows what it is like to be a world number six, even though he is currently twenty rungs down.

Last year was also a year of finding his lost form. But he shone at the end of it with a tournament triumph in Basel and he certainly has something to build on. Maybe right away at ATP Auckland.

Another Canadian earned his wild card at the New Zealand tournament. It’s Denis Shapovalov, former world number ten. He was last seen at Wimbledon last year. He has been nursing a knee injury since then.

Finally..

The tournament at this time encourages the participation of players who have a lot to fix or need to get into the form they are currently lacking. Which of the aforementioned players will kick-start success in Auckland?

Source: ATP, CBC