Cincinnati Open 2024: Ben Shelton vs Fabian Marozsan preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (12) Ben Shelton vs Fabian Marozsan
Date: August 16, 2024
Tournament: Cincinnati Open 2024
Round: Third Round (Round of 16)
Venue: Lindner Family Tennis Center, Mason, Ohio, US
Category: ATP Masters 1000
Surface: Hard
Prize Money: $6,795,555
Live Telecast: US - Tennis Channel | UK - Sky Sports | Canada - TSN+
Ben Shelton vs Fabian Marozsan preview
12th seed Ben Shelton will take on Fabian Marozsan in the third round of the Cincinnati Open 2024.
Shelton edged past Reilly Opelka 7-6 (3), 7-6 (3) to set up a second-round showdown against Tomas Martin Etcheverry. The American lost the first set despite being in the lead a few times. He let go of a 3-0 headstart, then wasted a couple of set points on his opponent's serve, and blew a 5-3 lead in the tie-break to surrender the opener.
Neither player capitalized on their break point chances in the second set, leading to another tie-break. Shelton led 6-3 in it, and once again fumbled his chances as he wasted three set points.
Shelton then saved a match point and won the last three points to take the set. A lone break of serve in his favor in the decider sealed the match for him as he beat Etcheverry for a 6-7 (6), 7-6 (7), 6-3 comeback win.
Marozsan beat Corentin Moutet 6-4, 7-6 (2) to reach the second round, where he was up against eighth seed Grigor Dimitrov. The Hungarian was the first to create break-point chances in the fourth game of the opening set but couldn't convert.
It proved costly for him as he got broken in the very next game and remained on the backfoot until the end to lose the set. Marozsan struck first in the second set to go up a break, only for Dimitrov to level the proceedings.
Marozsan then secured another break of serve in the 10th game of the set to take it. He only needed one break of serve in the third set to wrap up a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory.
Ben Shelton vs Fabian Marozsan head-to-head
Shelton leads Marozsan 1-0 in the head-to-head. He won their previous encounter at this year's ASB Classic in Auckland in straight sets.
Ben Shelton vs Fabian Marozsan odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Ben Shelton vs Fabian Marozsan prediction
Both players rallied from a set down to win their second-round matches. Shelton won 78 percent of his first serve points and blasted 45 winners against 31 unforced errors. Marozsan won 81 percent of points on the back of his first serve and struck 22 winners compared to 18 unforced errors.
Marozsan has a pretty decent track record at the Masters level. Of his previous five main draw appearances in Masters tournaments on hardcourts, he has reached at least the fourth round in four of them.
Shelton, on the other hand, has reached the fourth round only twice across 10 appearances in Masters tournaments on hardcourts. The American did beat Marozsan quite easily in Auckland earlier this year. However, the latter's track record at Masters events makes him the favorite in this encounter.
Pick: Fabian Marozsan to win in three sets.