Finnish qualifier Otto Virtanen beat American fourth seed Ben Shelton in a five set thriller on Tuesday at Wimbledon.
The world No. 140 won 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(8), 6-2, 7-6(9) on Court 2. The match lasted more than four hours.
Virtanen lost the second and third sets but broke through in the fourth and saved match points in the deciding tiebreak. He came back after Shelton led 8-5 in that tiebreak to close it out 11-9.
This marks the biggest win of Virtanen’s career and the first top five victory by a Finnish man in the Open Era at a Grand Slam. Shelton, ranked world No. 5, exits in the opening round.
Virtanen advances to the second round. His opponent will be the winner of another first round match in his section of the draw.