ATP Tour

Gea upsets Shelton in Shanghai R3: 'I am more confident on the court'

Arthur Gea earned the biggest win of his career Sunday at the Rolex Shanghai Masters, where he upset World No. 4 Ben Shelton in the third round of the penultimate ATP Masters 1000 event of the season.

The Frenchman, who is competing in the main draw of a Masters 1000 event for the first time in his career, defeated third-seeded Shelton 7-6(5), 7-6(3) to claim his first Top 10 win and advance to the fourth round in Shanghai.

The win is the latest chapter in what has been a breakthrough season for the 21-year-old. Gea captured his first ATP Tour title at the ATP 250 event in Los Cabos in July. The Frenchman then reached his first Grand Slam fourth round at the US Open as a lucky loser, before losing to Botic van de Zandschulp in a five-set battle.

"It has been an incredible few weeks," Gea said following his victory. "I changed my game a lot. I am more confident on the court. It has been a really good year at the moment. I hope it keeps going."

In his maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Shelton, Gea dropped serve while serving at 5-4 in the first set, but regrouped to edge the tie-break. The 21-year-old displayed similar resilience in the second set, recovering from a break at 3-3 before delivering another composed tie-break performance to complete his two-hour, seven-minute win. Gea effectively neutralised Shelton's first serve and looked sharp when moving forward, winning 20 of 28 points at the net, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

Gea, who started the year as World No. 241, is this week up nine spots to No. 48 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings with his latest win. The next test for the Frenchman in Shanghai will be a fourth-round meeting with Francisco Cerundolo or Jakub Mensik. Gea is seeking a place in his maiden Masters 1000 quarter-final.

Shelton was competing for the first time since representing the United States at the Davis Cup in September, having reached his first Grand Slam final at the US Open earlier that month. The American 24-year-old recently withdrew from the ATP 500 event in Tokyo due to a shoulder injury. A four-time ATP Tour titlist this season, Shelton is currently fourth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, aiming to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for a second consecutive year.