Ben Shelton returned to the hard courts in his home nation with a bang on Tuesday, scoring a statement win against fellow American Mackenzie McDonald at the Mubadala Citi DC Open.
In a dominant 6-3, 6-4 victory full of power and athleticism, the fourth seed did not offer up a break point. He hit nine aces and lost just seven service points in a tidy 75-minute victory, according to Infosys ATP Stats.
"It's really important, I think just [with] where I want my match count to be going into the US Open, to start off strong here and be playing again on Thursday and get myself a chance to have a second match," Shelton said of his winning start the North American swing.
"I think that the way these courts play at nighttime is fairly similar to the way the US Open plays during the day. During the day here, it's faster. But I think that getting as much exposure as I can with this ball and this court is really important."
Shelton entered Washington, D.C., at a career-high of No. 8 in the PIF ATP Rankings, playing for the first time since his Wimbledon quarter-final defeat to eventual champion Jannik Sinner. The 22-year-old is seeking his first Washington title and his first ATP Tour trophy of the 2025 season, having reached the Munich final in April on clay.
A semi-finalist last year in D.C., Shelton denied McDonald a chance to match his 2021 runner-up finish in Washington — his lone ATP Tour final appearance. Shelton will next face 15th seed Gabriel Diallo, a 6-3, 6-4 winner against Fabian Marozsan earlier on Tuesday.
ELITE hand skills 🤹♂️@mubadalacitidc | #MubadalaCitiDCOpen | @BenShelton pic.twitter.com/vZEmM2TmjU
— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 22, 2025
Cameron Norrie scored the upset of the day to join Shelton in the last 16, knocking out second seed Lorenzo Musetti 3-6, 6-2, 6-3. The Wimbledon quarter-finalist saved nine of 11 break points, including three from 0/40 at 2-2 in the third set, to earn his 11th victory against a Top 10 opponent, snapping a 14-match losing streak against players among that elite group in the PIF ATP Rankings.
"I had to really get fired up at some moments and it was all happening very quickly," Norrie said of his Italian opponent's strong start. "I was just trying to bring my energy and I managed to do that and raise it in the start of the second set. And then you start gaining momentum, and I got a lot of confidence in the third."
World No. 7 Musetti fell to 9-2 in opening rounds this season, with those two defeats coming in his past two outings at Wimbledon (l. to Basilashvili) and Washington. He also dropped to 2-1 against Norrie after suffering his first loss in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.
Daniel Evans also scored an upset in a strong day for Great Britain. In a 6-4, 6-4 win against 13th seed Alex Michelsen, the 35-year-old knocked out the home favourite by serving out the victory on his fourth match point. Evans won the final three games of the match from 3-4 in the second set.
