Shelton frustrated as play suspended when serving for match

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Shelton furious after play suspended with win one game away

American Ben Shelton needed just 84 seconds to secure his spot in the third round of Wimbledon after his match was suspended overnight for bad light.

The 10th seed was furious when the umpire called off play at 21:29 BST on Thursday as he prepared to serve for the match against Rinky Hijikata.

Wimbledon defended the decision, with tournament director Jamie Baker saying it had been "extremely dark".

On Friday, when the match resumed in the early afternoon sun, Shelton wasted no time in wrapping up a 6-2 7-5 6-4 victory.

He won the match with three aces and an unreturned second serve.

"Sorry you guys didnt really get to see much tennis," the 22-year-old told the crowd on court two.

"I was hoping to maybe hit a few groundstrokes today, I might have to go to the practice courts.

"Overall I couldnt be more happy being in the third round of Wimbledon."

Two-time Grand Slam semi-finalist Shelton joked he was "upset" not to have hit four aces, saying: "Hope to improve on [that] in the next round.

"For me, obviously you come out, youre serving for the match, the nerves are there a little bit.

"To hit three aces and take the pressure off myself, I couldnt be happier with what I came out and did."

He said it was the third or fourth time he has had a match split over two days at Wimbledon, and said it was a tournament where "you have got to be able to adjust on the fly, get used to the stopping, starting, re-warming up and its part of what makes tennis fun".

Adding to Sheltons annoyance at the suspension on Thursday was the fact he had lost three match points on Hijikatas serve just beforehand, and had also asked if play could be suspended before the start of the third set.

Hijikata insisted the suspension had no bearing on the result.

"I dont think in any way that it changed the outcome of the match," said Hijikata.

"That was probably an absolute clinic on how to serve out a match if you got one game to go.

"Its not easy to come out and serve out a match when you have a bit of pressure and youve had the night off."

Wimbledon 2025

30 June to 13 July

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