Basel 2024: Ben Shelton vs Stan Wawrinka preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds, and pick | Swiss Indoors
Match Details
Fixture: (6) Ben Shelton vs (WC) Stan Wawrinka
Date: October 24, 2024
Tournament: Swiss Indoors 2024
Round: Second Round (Round of 16)
Venue: St. Jakobshalle, Basel, Switzerland
Category: ATP 500
Surface: Hard (Indoor)
Prize Money: €2,385,100
Live Telecast: US - Tennis Channel | UK - Sky Sports | Canada - TSN
Ben Shelton vs Stan Wawrinka preview
Sixth seed Ben Shelton will face three-time Major champion Stan Wawrinka in the second round of the Swiss Indoors 2024.
Shelton drew World No. 36 Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the first round here. While there were a few tough moments in the match, the American never looked to be in trouble. He broke his opponent's serve once in each set to register a routine 6-3, 6-4 win.
Wawrinka was up against familiar rival Adrian Mannarino in the first round, against whom he had lost all three of his prior matches. The Swiss raced to a 5-0 lead in no time in the first set. However, he stumbled while trying to close out the set on his first go and gave his opponent a lifeline.
However, Wawrinka didn't slip up on his next attempt and took a one-set lead. Mannarino stormed back to take the second set and push the match into a final set. Both players matched each other shot for shot in the decider. A tie-break looked imminent but the match was over shortly before that.
Mannarino served to stay in the match and force a tie-break at 6-5. Wawrinka went 40-0 up on the Frenchman's serve and closed out the proceedings on his second match point to secure a 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 victory, and his first over the Frenchman.
Ben Shelton vs Stan Wawrinka head-to-head
This will be the first meeting between them, so the head-to-head currently stands at 0-0.
Ben Shelton vs Stan Wawrinka odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Ben Shelton vs Stan Wawrinka prediction
Shelton made a strong impression on his debut in Basel and moved past Etcheverry without a fuss. He won 84 percent of his first serve points and didn't drop his serve even once. He also struck 21 winners against 10 unforced errors. Wawrinka finally got the better of Mannarino on his fourth try, and it was a massive effort on his part to do so.
The Swiss fired 32 winners, though he had 44 unforced errors as well, and won 86 percent of his first serve points. A semifinal finish in Stockholm last week marked the best week of his season so far. He toppled World No. 7 Andrey Rublev for his first win over a top 10 player since last year.
However, Wawrinka has only 10 wins to his name this season, compared to Shelton's 38. While the three-time Major champion seems to have raised his level, he will start as the underdog against the American and will hope to cause yet another upset.
Pick: Ben Shelton to win in straight sets.