AUCKLAND, New Zealand — No. 8 Ben Shelton “knocked off the rust” Wednesday with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Francisco Comesana in his first match of 2026 on the ATP Tour in Auckland, New Zealand.
As the top seed, the American bid farewell to the first round of the ATP 250 tournament, where he has chosen to start his season each of the past four years.
With his coach and father Brian Shelton and his partner, U.S. women’s soccer star Trinity Rodman, courtside, Shelton saved a set point in the first set to beat the 68th-ranked Argentinian in one hour and 42 minutes.
Shelton blasted 12 aces and won 78 percent of his first-serve points, but his game showed signs of inactivity of late.
“I feel great, having shaken off a little bit of the rust, but it feels great to get back out there and get back racing,” Shelton said. “I think it’s great when you go into a competitive race and feel the nerves at certain points in the race and then obviously get a win and give yourself a chance to compete again.”
Shelton faced a break point in his first service game and tried to get into his rhythm, backing up his first serve by attacking short returns. At first he found Comesana’s serve difficult to crack. The Argentinian had set point at 5-4, but with Shelton at the net and open in the backcourt, he hit a backhand shot over the line.
This is his last chance. After holding serve, Shelton broke Comesana 6-5 and won the first set in 1 hour and 29 minutes. He then broke Comesana again in the first game of the second set and sealed the victory with his break.
The ATP Auckland Tour is a warm-up match for the Australian Open, which kicks off in Melbourne on Sunday.
