Japan Open: Ben Shelton wins maiden ATP Tour Title, defeats Aslan Karatsev

BenSheltonwon hisfirstATPTourtitleon Sunday, defeating Russian Aslan Karatsev 7-5, 6-1 at theJapanOpenin Tokyo. The 21-year-oldSheltonneeded just 84 minutes to dispatch Karatsev at theATP500 event.Sheltonwill reach a career-high No. 15 when the new rankings are released Monday.

He is the sixth player to win hisfirstATPtitlethis season. Along the way, the left-handedSheltonhit 18 winners, won 80 percent of the points on hisfirstserve and converted four of six break chances.

Sheltonmoved to 2-0 against Karatsev in head-to-head meetings. He is 14-2 in his past 16 matches overall and reached the quarterfinals last week in Shanghai.

EuropeanOpen

Third-seeded Alexander Bublik captured his third careertitlewith a 6-4, 6-4 win over fourth-seeded Arthur Fils of France in the final in Antwerp, Belgium.

Bublik recorded 28 winners and saved all three break points he faced to topple the 19-year-old Fils, who was the youngest finalist in the history of the tournament.Bublik, a 26-year-old Kazakhstan native, fired 11 aces and won 36 of 37first-serve points to end the match in 75 minutes.

BNP Paribas NordicOpen

Gael Monfils of France secured his 12thATPtitleafter rallying to a 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-3 win over Russian qualifier Pavel Kotov in the final in Stockholm.

Monfils, 37, fired seven aces en route to becoming the oldest champion in the history of the tournament after dispatching Kotov in two hours and 37 minutes. Monfils also won this event in 2021.Kotov converted 68 percent offirstserves but had seven double faults.

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