American Ben Shelton’s Madrid Open campaign ended almost as soon as it began Friday, with the world No. 6 falling to Croatian qualifier Dino Prizmic in a three-hour second-round battle.
Prizmic defeated Shelton 6-4, 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (7/5), earning the biggest win of his career and his first victory over a Top 10 opponent. The 20-year-old Croatian, who had already beaten Matteo Berrettini in the first round, backed up that result with a fearless performance against one of the most powerful servers in the men’s game.
For Shelton, the loss was a sharp reversal after his title run in Munich, where he captured the ATP 500 clay-court tournament by defeating Flavio Cobolli. The American arrived in Madrid with momentum and growing confidence on clay, but Prizmic’s composure and serving under pressure kept him from taking control.
The key statistic told much of the story. Shelton, despite stretching the match to a final-set tiebreak, was unable to force a single break of serve. Prizmic protected his service games throughout, absorbed Shelton’s left-handed power, and stayed steady enough in the deciding moments to close out the upset.
Shelton fought back after dropping the opening set, taking the second in a tiebreak to keep his Madrid hopes alive. But Prizmic refused to fade in the third, matching the American through another tight set before producing the cleaner finish in the deciding tiebreak.
The victory sends Prizmic into the third round, where he will face either Austria’s Sebastian Ofner or Argentina’s Tomás Etcheverry. For Latin American tennis fans, a meeting with Etcheverry would add another layer of interest to Prizmic’s breakout week in the Spanish capital.
Earlier Friday, Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti made a strong start to his Madrid Masters 1000 campaign, defeating Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz 6-4, 7-6 (7/4). Musetti, the world No. 9 and a Roland Garros semifinalist last year, handled the first set well before coming under heavier pressure in the second.
Hurkacz had chances to force a deciding set, but Musetti saved two break points late in the second before pushing the match into a tiebreak. A costly double fault from the Pole helped the Italian pull away, and Musetti closed out the win to reach the third round.
Musetti will next face Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands, who advanced with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Belarusian Damir Dzumhur.
World No. 1 Jannik Sinner was scheduled to take the court later Friday against France’s Benjamin Bonzi. With Carlos Alcaraz out of Madrid because of wrist problems, Sinner entered the tournament as the clear favorite and the central figure in the men’s draw.
