ben shelton

Ben Shelton defeated Arthur Fils 7-6 (4), 6-1 as Team World took an early lead over Team Europe at the Laver Cup international tennis tournament.

Shelton won 85 per cent of first-serve points and had the only two breaks of the match, both coming in the second set.

Fils, a 19-year-old from France and making his Laver Cup debut, was up 4-1 in the first set tiebreaker before Shelton stormed back with six straight points to take the first set.

The American carried that momentum into the second set, scoring the first break of the match to go up 3-1 and winning out from there.

Shelton’s points received sustained cheers from the crowd at Rogers Arena, with the American repeatedly turning towards the crowd and pumping his fist after scoring.

It was the first of four matches Friday, including a showdown between Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime and French veteran Gael Monfils.