After a prolonged period of struggles and frustration, Adam Walton appears to have finally found his footing on the main tour. He delivered consistent performances during the US Open swing, reaching the semifinals in Los Cabos and defeating Daniil Medvedev at the Cincinnati Masters. Thanks to these results, he achieved a career-high ranking of No. 75 and has become a regular on the tour.
With the momentum gained from the US Open swing and the experience he has collected from playing Challenger tournaments in East Asia over the years, this appeared to be the perfect phase for Walton to continue his progress and climb further in the rankings. Unfortunately, he has yet to find his form in this Asian swing.
Walton kicked off the Asian swing with a straight-sets loss to Sebastian Korda in the first round in Hangzhou two weeks ago. In the following week in Tokyo, he fell in the qualifying stages to Rei Sakamoto. Still seeking his first win of this year’s Asian swing, he will make his main-draw debut at the Shanghai Masters, having failed to qualify on his debut here in 2024.
Mattia Bellucci has had some memorable moments this year, including wins over Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev en route to the semifinals in Rotterdam. However, he has also faced several disappointments, including a nine-match losing streak midway through the year. Overall, it has been a mixed season, and he still holds a negative record of 23-27.
The Italian made his Masters main-draw debut in Shanghai last year, reaching the second round as a qualifier. It was a promising start to his Masters career, but since then, he has not won another main-draw match at this level, going 0-5 in first-round Masters tournaments.
Head-to-head: Mattia Bellucci leads 1-0. Neither player is currently at their best or in top form, making this an open contest. Walton’s extensive experience in the region could give him a slight advantage.
