Shelton shines with thrashing of Zizou

Holder Ben Shelton took another step on Friday to the defence of his Montreal Masters title as the fifth seed dominated Belgian Zizou Bergs 6-3, 6-2 on Friday to reach the fourth round in Montreal.

The ATP field has been decimated by pre-event pullouts (Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic) and the mass exits of seeds including the top four headed by Roland Garros winner and Wimbledon finalist Alexander Zverev.

Fifth seed Shelton – highest top 10 player remaining in the field – used his big serve to produce eight aces and three loves games in the second set as he sent Bergs to the sidelines in 65 minutes.

The Belgian was not helped by a handful of foot faults and double-faults as he took the defeat.

Shelton will play a Masters 1000 fourth round for the first time this season.

“It was a good day for me, I managed the match well,” the 23-year-old winner said. “He came out serving extremely well, I had to make some adjustments.

“I found a way to break his serve and kept the foot on the gas when I got the lead.”

Main photo:- Ben Shelton serving on his way to retaining Montreal title – by ATPTour.com