Shelton was appearing in his second tournament since picking up a left-shoulder injury during his third-round encounter with Adrian Mannarino at the US Open. The 23-year-old valiantly staved off a pair of match points to clinch his Basel opener in a decisive tiebreak over Kamil Majchrzak, though misses an opportunity to strengthen his position in race to Turin.
This week, Shelton started at No. 6 with five spots to the Nitto ATP Finals still up for grabs. With his exit though, the two-time major semifinalist could drop to No. 8 going into the Rolex Paris Masters if Alex de Minaur and Lorenzo Musetti both reach the Vienna final (and No. 7 if one makes the championship match).
Incoming Brussels champion Felix Auger-Aliassime can greatly trim his deficit with a third Basel title in four years, while last Sunday’s Stockholm winner Casper Ruud also looks to continue making a late charge on the leaderboard.
