Citi Open 2024: Ben Shelton vs Denis Shapovalov preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds, and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (2) Ben Shelton vs (WC) Denis Shapovalov
Date: August 2, 2024
Tournament: Citi Open 2024
Round: Quarterfinal
Venue: William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center, Washington D.C., US
Category: ATP 500
Surface: Hard
Prize Money: $2,100,230
Live Telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Sky Sports | Canada - TSN+
Ben Shelton vs Denis Shapovalov preview
Second seed Ben Shelton will square off against former top-10 player Denis Shapovalov in the quarterfinals of the Citi Open 2024.
Shelton received a bye into the second round, where he fought past Radu Albot to secure a 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3 win. He was up against fellow American Brandon Nakashima in the third round.
The match was a closely contested affair, with each player breaking the other's serve only once. Both sets went to a tie-break, in which Shelton gained the upper hand to register a 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4) win.
Shapovalov beat Roberto Bautista Agut 6-1, 6-4 in his opener, and followed it up with a comfortable 6-2, 6-1 win over sixth seed Adrian Mannarino. He took on 12th seed Miomir Kecmanovic in the third round.
Shapovalov went down a break in the first set and couldn't recover, which cost him the set. The two were neck and neck in the second set until Kecmanovic stumbled while trying to stay in the set at 5-4. The Canadian snagged a break in the nick of time to force a decider.
The Canadian was in total control of the third set as he jumped to a 5-1 lead. Kecmanovic stopped him from serving out the match after that, though Shapovalov broke back immediately to complete a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 comeback win.
Ben Shelton vs Denis Shapovalov head-to-head
Shelton leads Shapovalov 1-0 in the head-to-head. He won their previous encounter at this year's Wimbledon in five sets.
Ben Shelton vs Denis Shapovalov odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Ben Shelton vs Denis Shapovalov prediction
Both players made a quick exit from last week's Atlanta Open without winning a match. They've bounced back nicely by making the quarterfinals here. After two easy wins, Shapovalov was forced to dig deep against Kecmanovic and rose to the occasion brilliantly.
Shelton edged past Nakashima in two tight sets in a competitive battle. He crossed paths with Shapovalov a few weeks ago at Wimbledon and needed five sets to get past him. The topsy-turvy match had frequent momentum shifts, with both players utilizing their big serve and powerful shotmaking to the utmost effect.
This match could go down to the wire as well. The two have played reasonably well this week, and both have the potential to come out on top in this encounter. However, Shelton has notched up better results than Shapovalov this year, and as such will be favored to make it through this clash.
Pick: Ben Shelton to win in three sets.