AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — Eighth-ranked Ben Shelton was knocked out of the ATP 250 tournament in Auckland, New Zealand on Friday in a quarterfinal spread over two days because of rain.
The top-seeded Shelton lost 7-5, 6-3 to Sebastian Baez of Argentina, who is unseeded and ranked 39th.
Shelton led 1-0 in the second set on Thursday night when torrential rain caused the match to be suspended. When it resumed Friday, Baez served to level the match, then broke the American to lead 2-1.
Baez went on to beat American Marcos Giron 6-1, 6-4 in a semifinal later Friday. Three quarterfinals and both semifinals were played on the same day because of the rain disruptions.
Baez will play third-seeded Jakub Menšík, who reached Saturday's final when he beat Fabian Marozsan 7-6 (9), 4-6, 6-1. Marozsan had beaten defending champion Gael Monfils in the first round and second-seeded Casper Ruud in the second.
Baez swept through the first set against Giron in 27 minutes but faced a much tougher contest in the second set. He had an early break but Giron broke back to level the set at 4-4. Baez then gained the crucial break in the ninth game in which there were six deuces and four break points.
“This is a good preparation for Australia, for sure,” Baez said. “In that case I'm happy to take both matches today.”
The 23-year-old Shelton, the top-ranked American on tour ahead of No. 9 Taylor Fritz, now heads to the Australian Open in which he will play Ugo Humbert of France in the first round.
At a news conference in Auckland, Shelton said he believes there are young players capable of bridging the gap to Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, who have won the last eight Grand Slam singles titles between them.
He hopes to be one of them.
“They’ve certainly been ahead of the pack the last couple years,” Shelton said. “But in my mind there’s definitely guys who can come up there and challenge, young guys who are playing great, better and better every year.
Alcaraz is 22 and Sinner 24.
“To be doing what Alcaraz and Sinner are doing at such a young age is not normal but there’s so many young guys who haven’t fully developed or we haven’t seen their best tennis yet.”
Shelton said the 2025 season “was a great stepping stone for me . . . there’s so many things I improved on in 2025 versus 2024."
“And, for me, it’s not all about the results. It’s more what I find in my game, the things that I figure out,” Shelton added. "So there is a lot to be able to build off of this year.”
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
FILE - Ben Shelton of the U.S. plays a forehand return to Jannik Sinner of Italy during their semifinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Jan. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup, File)
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers didn't hesitate to try to fix their pass rush woes by selecting Rueben Bain Jr. with the 15th pick in the NFL draft on Thursday night.
One of the top prospects available, even after published reports linked him to a traffic collision that resulted in the death of a passenger, Bain helped Miami to an appearance in the College Football Playoff national championship game in January and is confident he's a good fit for the Bucs.
Tampa Bay general manager Jason Licht feels the same way. He said the team did its homework on the 6-foot-3, 275-pound Bain, who had 20 1/2 sacks in three seasons in college.
“We've known about this for a long time,” Licht said of the accident Bain was involved in March 2024. "I know it just came out a couple of weeks ago. It was a very tragic accident. Tragic experience for the family. It's something you never want to see happen.
“He's a good person,”" the GM added. “Was involved in something none of us ever want to be involved in, never want any of our loved ones to be involved."
Bain, speaking from the draft in Pittsburgh via Zoom, did not say much about the accident or how he has coped with news of the collision breaking in the weeks leading up to the draft.
“Everything has its ups and downs. I try to make everything as simple as it possibly can be, try to prioritize whatever I can prioritize at the moment,” the 21-year-old said.
Bain, whose position coach at Miami was Hall of Famer Jason Taylor, said he was relieved when his name was called. He said he has family in Tampa and expects a smooth transition to the NFL.
The Bucs went 8-9 last season, losing seven of nine games following a 6-2 start to end a string of five consecutive playoff appearances that included a Tom Brady-led Super Bowl run during the 2020 season. The lack of a consistent pass rush was one of the biggest problems on defense.
Inside linebacker, tight end and cornerback are other priorities Licht and coach Todd Bowles could address during the three-day draft. Barring trades, Tampa Bay has three of the top 77 selections overall and at least one pick in each of the final six rounds.
The team began an overhaul of the defense this winter after losing linebacker Lavonte David to retirement and not bringing back cornerback Jamel Dean and linebacker Haason Reddick, who became free agents. Defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad signed a one-year deal with the Bucs in March after having a career-best 11 sacks with the Detroit Lions last season, and the Bucs also landed linebackers Alex Anzalone and Christian Rozeboom in free agency.
Tampa By finished with 37 sacks last season, the team's lowest total since Bowles, who continue to call defensive plays, joined the Bucs as defensive coordinator in 2019.
Bain can hardly wait to get started.
“I feel like I'll fit in just fine,” Bain said. “Bowles is an aggressive-like minded coach and I'm an aggressive-like minded player. I feel like it's 2 and 2 put together. It's going to be real simple, real smooth.”
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Miami defensive lineman Rueben Bain Jr. poses with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after being chosen by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the 15th overall pick during the first round of the NFL football draft, Thursday, April 23, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Miami defensive lineman Rueben Bain Jr. celebrates with fans after being chosen by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the 15th overall pick during the first round of the NFL football draft, Thursday, April 23, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Miami defensive lineman Rueben Bain Jr. walks on stage before the first round of the NFL football draft, Thursday, April 23, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
