Ben Shelton seeks to rebound from his Basel final defeat when he returns to the court at the Paris Masters against home player and fellow lefty Corentin Moutet.
The American player was slated to face Felix Auger-Aliassime in this tournament opener, but the Canadian's withdrawal due to a season-ending back injury means the 22-year-old faces Moutet instead on Tuesday.
Match preview
© Imago
Although Shelton was backed to triumph in Basel, the American could not find answers to Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard's booming serve at the ATP 500 decider, falling 6-4, 7-6(4) against the Frenchman.
Despite his defeat in the championship match, the 22-year-old rose to 19th after a commendable run in his Basel debut and aims for an encouraging showing in the Paris Masters.
Although his best showing at ATP 1000 events this year came in Cincinnati, Shelton enters the ongoing competition without a tournament-opening loss in such events this season.
That stands him in good stead as he seeks to improve his 11-7 record in 1000 tournaments this season before a potential encounter with Jannik Sinner in round two.
The bubbly American player cannot afford to look that far ahead against Moutet, who has the tools to make the world No. 19's progress problematic.
The Frenchman — ranked No. 70 — came through qualifying to make the main draw in his home tournament and is keen to stun his higher-ranked opponent and two-time ATP Tour champion.
However, Moutet is 11-15 on the Tour this season and 1-5 in Masters events, highlighting the challenge facing the Frenchman against Shelton.
With the 25-year-old's only main draw win against Roman Safiullin in Rome, he enters his home tournament on a 0-3 run at ATP 1000 events, recently exiting in round one against Aleksandar Vukic in Shanghai.
While Moutet is unfancied, stranger things have happened on the tour, and he hopes to take advantage of likely having most fans in his corner against his higher-ranked opponent.
Head To Head
Both players will face off for the first time on the men's singles tour, with the winner advancing to play Sinner.
Shelton is 5-2 this year against left-handed opponents, albeit facing and defeating Denis Shapovalov three times, and attempts to record a sixth in Tuesday's match.
By contrast, Moutet is 3-5 against other lefties this year, losing the last three before the Paris event.
We say: Shelton to win in two sets
Unless he carries any of that Basel disappointment into the final Masters event of 2024, Shelton's cracking serve and hard-hitting style should overpower Moutet in the pair's first tour-level meeting.
