Ben Shelton has become the second top-10 seed to exit the Cincinnati Masters after Novak Djokovic, suffering a shock straight-sets defeat.
The eighth-seeded American fell 6-4, 6-4 to Portugal’s Jaime Faria, who had never beaten a top-10 player before. Faria came through two rounds of qualifying to reach the main draw before beating Jenson Brookby in the first round. Shelton hit nearly two times more unforced errors than winners (26-14) and was broken three times. It is the third time this season he has lost to a qualifier at a Masters 1000 event.
“An emotional moment for me, and for my team, it’s like a we-made-it-moment,” said world No.79 Faria.
“To do it here in front of an amazing crowd, against the home player, at night, this amazing venue just makes it a little more special. It’s my first top 10 win, so in those moments, you gotta take it all in and just enjoy.”
“I work for these moments.”
Shelton came into the tournament on a six-match winning streak after becoming the first man since Rafael Nadal to defend their title at the Canadian Masters. He played the final last Friday, beating Brandon Nakashima. It is not the first time a player has lost their opening match in Cincinnati after claiming the Canadian Open title. Others to do so include Alexei Popyrin in 2024, Jannik Sinner in 2023 and Pablo Carreno Busta in 2022.
As for Faria, he is the first man from his country to reach the third round of Cincinnati in the Open Era. He is currently 73rd in the ATP PIF live rankings, a career-best.
“I’m so happy, because I’m focusing on the process, not taking steps ahead of time, and in these moments, you gotta celebrate.” He said.
Elsewhere, other top names progressed into the next round with relative ease. 2019 champion Daniil Medvedev defeated Argentina’s Marco Trungelliti 6-4, 7-5 and faces Nakashima next. Second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime also enjoyed a straight-sets win, downing Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 7-5. Finally, Taylor Fritz eased his way past Alex Michelsen 6-3, 6-4.
As it currently stands, Medvedev and Alexander Zverev are the only players remaining in the draw who have previously won the title.
