Ben Shelton won his first ATP Tour title on Sunday, defeating Russian Aslan Karatsev 7-5, 6-1 at the Japan Open in Tokyo.
The 21-year-old Shelton needed just 84 minutes to dispatch Karatsev at the ATP 500 event. Shelton will reach a career-high No. 15 when the new rankings are released Monday.
He is the sixth player to win his first ATP title this season. Along the way, the left-handed Shelton hit 18 winners, won 80 percent of the points on his first serve and converted four of six break chances.
Shelton moved 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.
–Field Level Media
