Ben Shelton crashed out of Wimbledon in the first round, squandering a match point against qualifier Otto Virtanen in a heartbreaking five-set defeat. The fourth seed fell 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (8), 6-2, 7-6 (9) after leading 8-5 in the final tiebreaker, marking his earliest exit at the grass-court Grand Slam.

Shelton, ranked No. 5 globally, had reached the quarterfinals at the All England Club last year. He described it as 'one of the toughest losses of my career' after the 4 hours, 21 minutes marathon on No. 2 Court. The American argued he didn't play poorly, but Virtanen's aggressive baseline hitting left him with few free points.

Virtanen, ranked 140th and coming through qualifying, secured the biggest victory of his career. The Finnish player noted his strong grass-court preparation this month helped him capitalize when Shelton's semi-hanging balls became targets in the crucial final game before the tiebreak.

Other seeded Americans advanced Tuesday as Taylor Fritz defeated Dusan Lajovic 6-3, 6-4, 6-3, while fifth seed Alex de Minaur also won. Shelton plans to return to practice courts quickly rather than dwell on the disappointment.