Australian Open semi-finalist Ben Shelton has yet to find his A-game after Melbourne. The American experienced an early loss at the ATP 500 event in Dallas and mirrored that in Acapulco on Wednesday night.
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Shelton faced David Goffin in the second round and fell 7-6, 6-3 in an hour and 45 minutes. The Belgian is finding his old form again, and he displayed it against the 5th seed. The more experienced player prevailed in the opener and broke the rival's resistance with a double break in the second set.
Goffin lost 16 points behind the initial shot and suffered one break from the only break chance offered to his rival. A left-hander served well for a set and a half. However, he struggled in the closing stages of the second set and hit the exit door.
David landed 18 winners and 25 unforced errors. He welcomed 33 mistakes from the other side of the net, with Ben missing from both wings.Shelton hit only five service winners more and lost that advantage after Goffin's 16 direct points at the net.
The Belgian tamed his strokes more efficiently and had the upper hand from the baseline. The servers were too strong in the first set. The 5th seed closed the seventh game with a volley winner at the net before finding himself 30-0 down at 4-4.
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A left-hander imposed his booming serve and clinched four straight points to remain on the positive side. David held at love for 5-5 and repeated that at 5-6 to introduce a tie break. The Belgian caused the American's error in the first point for a mini-break.
He moved 3-0 up with an unreturned serve and landed a winner at the net in the fifth point for another mini-break and 4-1. Ben missed another return in the seventh point, falling 5-2 behind and showing frustration.
Goffin attacked in the eighth point and closed it with a volley winner for 6-2 and four set points. The Belgian converted the second with a service winner, moving 7-6 up after 58 minutes. They served well early in the second set, and David painted an ace in the fifth for a hold at love and 3-2.
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The sixth game presented the first break points of the duel. Ben denied two with powerful serves but faced the third after a careless forehand. The American went for a risky second serve and hit a double fault, getting broken and falling a set and a break behind.
The 5th seed responded in the seventh game and generated three break points with a forehand winner. Shelton seized the first after Goffin's backhand error, pulling the break back and extending his chances. Instead of building on that, Ben faced more issues at 3-4.
The Belgian wasted four set points before seizing the fifth with a forehand winner, passing his rival at the net and forging a 5-3 advantage. The veteran served for the win in game nine and created match points with a powerful serve.
David cracked a backhand crosscourt winner on the first, moving over the top in style and entering the quarter-final.
