Americans Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe exit Paris Masters

Americans Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe both lost in the first round of the Paris Masters on Monday.

The 14th-seeded Tiafoe fell 6-3, 6-4 to Alexander Bublik while Shelton, the No. 15 seed, was undone 7-6 (4), 5-7, 6-3 by Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

It was Bublik’s first hardcourt triumph at a Masters tournament since Miami last year.

Shelton, who earned his maiden tour title earlier this month in Tokyo, hit 15 aces but could not recover from the only break of serve in the decider.

Also, Alex De Minaur saved one match point and rallied from 2-5 down in the third set to defeat 2016 champion Andy Murray 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-5 after a three-hour match. The 13th-seeded De Minaur is undefeated in six matches versus Murray.

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De Minaur saved the match point in the ninth game of the deciding set and won the final five games to stay in contention for the ATP Finals. Five of the eight places at the year-end tournament in Turin have already been booked by Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Jannik Sinner and Andrey Rublev.

Murray smashed his racket in anger at the end of the match.

It was the second time in a month the British player wasted a third-set lead versus his Australian rival after de Minaur rallied from a break down in the decider to defeat the three-time Grand Slam champion in the first round of the China Open.

The top-ranked Djokovic, who has won the Paris Masters a record six times, is returning to competition for the first time since he played in a Davis Cup tie for Serbia in September. The US Open champion is on a 13-match winning run and will open his tournament versus Miomir Kecmanovic or Tomas Martin Etcheverry.

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