Second seed Ben Shelton battles past lucky loser Emilio Nava at Munich Open

[p]After rallying from a break down in the deciding set, the world number six will next meet the winner of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/blockx-alexander/xll0TzGG/"]Alexander Blockx's[/a] meeting with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hanfmann-yannick/zLJYYbhm/"]Yannick Hanfmann[/a].[/p][p][b]"It's tough. Not just (playing against) another American, but probably my best friend out on tour, or one of a few,"[/b] [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/shelton-ben/QNuG0Gzb/"]Shelton[/a] said.[/p][p]"His trajectory has been steep lately, so I'm happy to see the way he has been climbing (the rankings)," Shelton added of the 112th-ranked Nava.[/p][p][b]"I know he wasn't feeling 100 percent today, so I feel bad about that. I hope he gets back to 100 percent quickly, because he's playing great on the clay."[/b][/p][embed guid="d5ebe0bb-3730-4901-8ed4-1f33befd5cb1" url="https://x.com/TennisTV/status/2043707214389469265" social-type="twitter" /][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/nava-e-AJGo8fir/shelton-b-QNuG0Gzb/?mid=6qJ8G7eR"]The win[/a] improves Shelton's perfect record to six wins from six outings in 500-level events this year as the 23-year-old tries to go one better than last year on the Bavarian red dirt in pursuit of a career-first clay-court title.[/p][p]Shelton lost the 2025 title-decider to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/zverev-alexander/dGbUhw9m/"]Alexander Zverev[/a], and the German is once again the top seed in this edition of the tournament. He will meet Miomir Kecmanovic in his opening match.[/p][p]The winner of that encounter will face Gabriel Diallo in the round of 16 after the Canadian beat Ukrainian qualifier Vitaliy Sachko [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/diallo-g-2TgBLj6G/sachko-v-48tkf3Wn/?mid=CrRbb8Zr"]6-1, 6-2[/a].[/p][p]Elsewhere, Argentinian fifth seed [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/cerundolo-francisco/lWQ3G6gB/"]Francisco Cerundolo[/a] won [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/cerundolo-f-lWQ3G6gB/nagal-s-46aHbwDc/?mid=YoNZujN7"]6-2, 6-2[/a] against Sumit Nagal of India, while French seventh seed Arthur Rinderknech eased past the US' Alex Michelsen in straight sets.[/p]