Keystone
The American number 6 seed Ben Shelton and the French surprise man Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard will be in the final of the Swiss Indoors in Basel on Sunday.
The 22-year-old Ben Shelton (ATP 23) was one of the tournament favorites right from the start and, after Stan Wawrinka and the top-seeded world number 7 Andrej Rublev, also beat Arthur Fils 6:3, 7:6 (11:9) in the semi-final. He thus prevented an all-French final, as Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (ATP 50), who is one year younger, was also unstoppable against the number 4 seed Holger Rune.
Both Shelton and Mpetshi Perricard have yet to lose a service game in the entire tournament and will play their biggest final to date on Sunday afternoon (3.30 p.m.). Neither has ever lost in the final. The American has won two tournaments in the 250 category so far, the Frenchman one. Basel is one level higher.
Dramatic tiebreak
In a duel between two good friends and excellent servers, the semi-final between Sheltin and Fils was decided in a dramatic tie-break. The two years younger Frenchman, who did not have a break chance in the entire match, led 5:0, had a total of five set points, but was unable to force a third round. Instead, it was the world number 23 from Florida who sealed the match with his second match point.
The left-hander Shelton is one of the faces of the “next generation” on the ATP Tour. That’s fitting, because at the age of 22 he was already the oldest of these semi-finals in Basel, where the young players are thrilled. Although the rise of the 2023 US Open semi-finalist has stalled somewhat this year, his potential is unmistakable.
“I served really well and that was necessary,” said Shelton, laughing and apologizing to the fans in the hall. “Sorry that there weren’t many longer rallies, but I did a really good job of doing what I set out to do.” With his visible joy of playing and good mood, he also played his way into the hearts of the Basel fans. He was particularly pleased that he managed to get his revenge against his friend. In Tokyo just under a month ago, he lost narrowly in three sets and Fils went on to win the tournament.
Dry spell for France and USA
Shelton is now aiming to do the same at the Swiss Indoors. There are unlikely to be any long rallies in the final either, as Giobanni Mpetshi Perricard, a real service specialist, now awaits. The 2.03-meter giant from Lyon is the tallest player in the top 100 and even hits second serves at over 230 km/h. The highly talented Dane Holger Rune, who lost 6:7 (6:8), 4:6 and lost his sixth ATP semi-final in a row, also despaired of this.
“The return will be crucial,” believes Mpetshi Perricard, who looked very cool on the court and won the only duel with Shelton on grass so far this summer. He won his only ATP final to date on clay in Lyon in May. “I’m not at home this time,” said the Frenchman with a laugh. “But it almost feels like it here.”
The last French winner in Basel was Yannick Noah in 1987, and the Americans have also been waiting a long time for a victory in the St. Jakobshalle. Pete Sampras won the last one in 1996.
Hüsler/Stricker narrowly miss out on a place in the doubles final
In the doubles, Switzerland’s Marc-Andrea Hüsler and Dominic Stricker narrowly missed out on a place in the final. They lost the semi-final in Basel against the top-seeded Dutch-Croatian duo Wesley Koolhof/Nikola Mektic 4:6, 7:6 (7:1), 6:10. The two Davis Cup players were therefore unable to repeat their coup of summer 2021, when they won the ATP tournament in Gstaad together.
SDA