Top seed Ben Shelton breezed past Australian Rinky Hijikata 6-4, 6-0 in his first grass court win of the season, and now faces Britain’s Paul Jubb who had an easy 6-0, 6-3 victory over Adam Walton.

American Shelton, who lost in the first round in Stuttgart and Queens in the last two weeks, showed clear signs of intent even in the first service game when his service speeds touched 144mph and included a second serve ace. In his return games he also surprised Hijikata by approaching the net off the return of serve – adopting the so-called “SABR” (Sneak Attack by Roger) tactic employed by legend Roger Federer towards the end of his career. 

“It was a really fun match today,” said Shelton on court after his win. “I’m happy to be back in Mallorca. I love playing here. I had a really tough first match here last year, losing 7-6 in the third, so I’m really happy to get my first win here. I’m really pleased with how I played today. I’m getting used to grass day by day.”

The key moment of the match came in the five-minute period when Hijikata held two breakpoints with the scores 3-2 and 15-40 in his favour in the first set, but Shelton produced the big serves when it mattered. And in the next game the 75^th ranked Hijikata faced breakpoints of his own and faltered when Shelton fired three consecutive fizzing forehands to take the lead. 

From thereon, Shelton gained confidence in all aspects of his game saving all six breakpoints against him and finishing with 24 winners and 13 aces, while Hijikata – who reached the quarters of Queens last week – looked lost and was blown away in the second set without getting a game on the board. 

In the quarter finals, he will play Paul Jubb from Britain who won the battle of the qualifiers against Adam Walton in just 55 minutes. Jubb has now played four matches to reach this stage and will give away a massive 275 ranking places in his upcoming showdown with Shelton, scheduled for last on court tomorrow.

Meanwhile, 18-year-old Jakub Mensik continued his remarkable run in Mallorca after winning a titanic battle with Italian veteran Fabio Fognini 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 where the first three games alone lasted over 40 minutes. Mensik defeated defending champion Christopher Eubanks in the previous round and now faces Chilean fourth seed Alejandro Tabilo who beat Alexander Shevchenko 6-3, 6-2 in 69 minutes.

Czechia’s 18-year-old sensation Jakub Mensik shocked American Christopher Eubanks 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 in the first round of the Mallorca Open – and goes on to face veteran Italian Fabio Fognini for a place in the quarter finals.

Mensik turned professional less than two years ago, and lost in the first round of qualifying in Halle last week. Yet eight days later in his second match ever on grass, he put out the 42^nd ranked Eubanks who won the tournament last year.

“For me it’s a good result,” said Mensik in his on-court interview. “Obviously after difficult weeks, I’m happy to compete again. Back on grass with a ‘W’, I’m happy and I will be pushing more for the next round.”

The youngster is already ranked well inside the top 100 at just 18 years, and possesses a power game including a huge forehand and serving speeds of up to 138mph. And yet amongst all that strength, perhaps the point of the match was his exquisite faded backhand drop volley off a Eubanks return to level the scores at one game all early in the second set – a jaw-dropping display of finesse to suggest that Mensik is going places, and fast. 

Elsewhere around the grounds today, sixth seed Gael Monfils continued his good form from yesterday when he beat Dominic Thiem, this time defeating Roberto Carbelles Baena from Spain in straight sets 6-3, 6-4 and now plays Roberto Bautista Agut, who battled past second seed Ugo Humbert 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in a match lasting two and half hours. 

In other results:

(R16) Alex Michelsen beat Adrian Mannarino 7-6, 6-4
(R16) Sebastian Ofner beat Luciano Darderi 6-3, 7-5
(R32) Paul Jubb beat Maximilian Marterer
(R32) Adam Walton beat Yannick Hanfmann

Britain’s Jack Draper tight first round win headlined the opening day’s results at the Boss Open 2024 in Stuttgart – and possibly faces a second-round match with Andy Murray who takes on Marcos Giron tomorrow.

Less than 24 hours from the last ball being hit at Roland Garros, the ATP Tour had already switched surfaces onto the grass, and 22-year-old Draper was well tested but ultimately came through in two tie-breakers over Sebastian Ofner.

The sixth seed’s 7-6, 7-6 win contained just one break of serve each, both coming in the second set, as serve dominated proceedings on the faster grass courts in Germany.

While the Austrian won 75% on his first serve, Draper won a whopping 89% behind his first delivery as well as hitting eight aces. These kind of service stats will surely take him far during the grass court season.

“I thought it was a really good match,” Eurosport quoted Draper saying after his match. 
“Both of us played really clean tennis, executing really well.
“When it came down to it, I’m glad I competed really well and got over the line – it’s good to be back on the grass as well.”

There were also wins for Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann who won 6-3, 6-3 over wildcard Henri Squire, while compatriot Dominik Koepfer won in three sets over China’s Zhizhen Zhang 4-6, 7-6, 7-6.