Ben Shelton and Denis Shapovalov will play for a second week at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships in their third-round match.
On paper, the American should be a wonderful grass tennis player, but he's not been that great so far in his career. Even this year, he lost a couple of matches easily, which certainly didn't help him with confidence ahead of the grass-court major.
He hasn't looked spectacular at Wimbledon either, winning both matches only in five sets. That's not particularly impressive, even though one of his opponents, Lloyd Harris, can play well on grass.
Shapovalov has looked more impressive, even though he, too, struggled at times. His problem is his inconsistency, as he could play a wonderful match but also could struggle a lot, as he did against Daniel Altmaier.
Head-to-head:
The two haven't played so far in an ATP Tour-level match, but it's an interesting matchup, especially on grass. The Canadian is the more comfortable player on grass because he's played more matches on it.
He even had a good run at Wimbledon in the past, which Shelton never did. Shapovalov has looked better so far at Wimbledon and on grass, but his inconsistency is always the important part of the equation.
Shelton is more than capable of beating Shapovalov, especially if the Canadian player doesn't play his best tennis, but he will also need to bring his best.
| Ben Shelton | Denis Shapovalov | |
| 0 | H2H | 0 |
| 14 | Rank | 121 |
| 21 | Age | 25 |
| 22-14 | 2024 W/L | 12-15 |
| 51-41 | Career W/L | 193-164 |
Prediction:
We should see a competitive match in which Shapovalov likely will win at least one set. Shelton should win one set as well, but who will win the match is pretty uncertain. The American could have an upper hand, just because he's been the better player in recent months.
Prediction: Ben Shelton to win in four sets.
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