PARIS (AP) — Ben Shelton reached the third round at the French Open for the second year in a row — and this time, the American didn't even need to swing his racket, moving on Tuesday when Hugo Gaston withdrew from the tournament because of an abdominal injury.
The 13th-seeded Shelton's best Grand Slam results were making it to the semifinals at the 2023 U.S. Open and the Australian Open this January.
He was supposed to face France's Gaston in the second round at Roland-Garros on Wednesday night. The tournament replaced that matchup in Court Philippe-Chatrier with No. 10 seed Holger Rune of Denmark against unseeded Emilio Nava of the United States.
Shelton advances to a meeting on Friday against two-time major finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas or Matteo Gigante. That means Shelton will have had four days without competition following his five-set victory over Lorenzo Sonego in the first round Sunday night.
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
The Associated Press
