Ben Shelton, the fourth seed, was eliminated from Wimbledon in a first-round upset by qualifier Otto Virtanen, ranked 140th in the world. The American saved a match point in the fifth-set tiebreaker but ultimately fell 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (8), 6-2, 7-6 (9) on Tuesday.
This marks Shelton's earliest exit from the grass-court Grand Slam in his young career. The 23-year-old American led 8-5 in the deciding 10-point tiebreaker and held a match point at 9-8 before an unforced error and two subsequent points for Virtanen sealed the victory.
"I thought I put myself in a great position to win at the end. He came up with the goods," Shelton said after the match, describing it as "one of the toughest losses of my career." He noted that Virtanen's aggressive play, which forced Shelton into difficult shots and prevented him from gaining free points, was a key factor. "Towards the end, any ball I left semi-hanging, he was ripping a winner, especially in that last game before the tiebreak," Shelton added.
Virtanen, 25, secured the biggest win of his career by defeating Shelton, who is ranked No. 5. The Finn had a strong grass-court season leading up to Wimbledon, playing numerous matches. He reached the second round in his Wimbledon debut in 2024.
Despite the disappointing outcome, Shelton expressed his intention to bounce back quickly. "I'm usually the type of person that gets back on the court or in the gym the next day," he stated. "I didn't even think I played a poor match today. Things just didn't go my way. ... I'll be right back on the practice courts in a couple days."