In one of the marquee matchups of the Australian Open first round, Ben Shelton beat Ugo Humbert 6-3, 7-6(2), 7-6(5) on Tuesday afternoon. Shelton struck 15 aces and broke Humbert three times while advancing in two hours and 37 minutes.
Shelton could have been en route to a showdown with Gael Monfils, which would have been a rematch of the fourth round last year. In his final trip to Melbourne, however, Monfils lost to Dane Sweeny 6-7(3), 7-5, 6-4, 7-5. It was the first Grand Slam match win of the 24-year-old Aussie’s career — thus making both a beginning and an end of sorts.
“First of all, thank you so much,” Monfils told the crowd after losing a three-hour and 51-minute battle. “For me, my journey here with you guys started in 2003 when I came here for the first time. Now we are in 2026 and somehow it is the finish line but thank you so much for this amazing ride. You have been unbelievable.”
The Australian Open lost another big name when Joao Fonseca got bounced by Eliot Spizzirri 6-4, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2.
Australian Open Day 3 men’s singles results
Jannik Sinner d. Hugo Gaston 6-2, 6-1, ret.
Ben Shelton d. Ugo Humbert 6-3, 7-6(2), 7-6(5)
Taylor Fritz d. Valentin Royer 7-6(5), 5-7, 6-1, 6-3
Stefanos Tsitsipas d. Shintaro Mochizuki 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2
Lorenzo Musetti d. Raphael Collignon 4-6, 7-6(3), 7-5, 3-2, ret.
Tomas Machac d. Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-4, 6-3
Jakub Mensik d. Pablo Carreno Busta 7-5, 4-6, 2-6, 7-6(1), 6-3
Karen Khachanov d. Alex Michelsen 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3
Sebastian Baez d. Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3
Dane Sweeny d. Gael Monfils 6-7(3), 7-5, 6-4, 7-5
James Duckworth d. Dino Prizmic 7-6(4), 3-6, 1-6, 7-5, 6-3
Rafael Jodar d. Rei Sakamoto 7-6(6), 6-1, 5-7, 4-6, 6-3
Ethan Quinn d. Tallon Griekspoor 6-2, 6-3, 6-2
Luciano Darderi d. Cristian Garin 7-6(5), 7-5, 7-6(3)
Eliot Spizzirri d. Joao Fonseca 6-3, 2-6, 6-1, 6-1
Nishesh Basavareddy d. Christopher O’Connell 4-6, 7-6(7), 6-7(3), 6-2, 6-3
Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.