By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Wednesday January 8, 2025
Ben Shelton did all he could to hold off 19-year-old Jakub Mensik in Auckland on Wednesday night, but in the end the American could not hold off the rising Czech.
Mensik converted his sixth match point to defeat the top-seeded American in a thrilling affair, 7-6(2), 4-6 7-5, and he moves into a quarterfinal lineup that features only two seeded players.
The Czech teen outaced Shelton 10 to 7 and won a higher percentage of first-serve points in the contest, claiming 80 percent to just 62 percent for Shelton.
All that was missing was an elusive break point – he couldn’t convert on his first 11 but finally locked down his victory on the 12th to advance to his seventh career quarterfinal. He is the youngest player to reach the last eight at Auckland since Rafael Nadal in 2004.
In other action at the ASB Classic, Gael Monfils defeated Jan-Lennard Struff to become the oldest quarterfinalist since 1970 in Auckland. The Frenchman delivered a 6-1, 7-6(5) triumph, while 19-year-old American Nishesh Basavareddy topped defending champion Alejandro Tabilo 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 to set an all-American quarterfinal clash with Alex Michelsen (who took out Lorenzo Sonego).