World number three Alexander Zverev defeated world number six American Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6 (6) in the first round of the Bjorn Borg Group tonight at the final tournament in Turin.
The German tennis player reached his opening triumph in Turin in an hour and 33 minutes.
Zverev broke his rival's serve twice in the first set - in the fifth and ninth games.
There were no breaks in the second half of the game, and the winner was decided in an additional, 13th game.
Shelton led 6:3 in the tie-break, had three consecutive set points, but Zverev managed to save them and record a 5:0 series triumph.
Earlier today, in the Jimmy Connors Group, the world's second-ranked tennis player, Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, won, defeating seventh-ranked player on the ATP list, Australian Alex de Minaur, 7:6 (5), 6:2.
The remaining two first-round matches are scheduled for tomorrow. Starting at 2:00 PM, the world's fourth-ranked American Taylor Fritz and the Italian Lorenzo Musetti (ninth on the ATP list) will play in the Jimmy Connors Group.
At 8:30 PM, a duel in the Bjorn Borg Group is scheduled between the world's number one tennis player, Italian Jannik Siner, and Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime (eighth on the ATP list).
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