Ben Shelton and Felix Auger-Aliassime will meet in the third round of the 2024 Roland Garros.
The American navigated a tricky challenge against Kei Nishikori in rain-infested weather, but he also got a bit lucky. The Japanese player pulled out before they could finish the match, which spared him having to go out there again for yet another time since their match started.
That's going to be very useful ahead of his match against Auger-Aliassime, who had a tricky match himself but handled it well. This is an amazing matchup on paper, and it could go either way.
The Canadian has a better track record on clay, but Shelton might be the better player right now. Both have been solid at best on clay so far, so this event offers them a chance to really do something of note.
Head-to-head:
Shelton and Auger-Aliassime have never played against each other on the ATP Tour so far, so it's going to be quite interesting to see how it might go. Clay is not the best surface of either player, but both have similar playstyles in the sense that they rely on their serve quite a bit.
The American depends on it far more because his baseline play is quite raw. Auger-Aliassime is more refined in that regard, but he hasn't really been reliable in that sense. Shelton might actually be the more consistent player from the baseline.
| Ben Shelton | Felix Auger-Aliassime | |
| 0 | H2H | 0 |
| 15 | Rank | 21 |
| 21 | Age | 23 |
| 19-10 | 2024 W/L | 19-12 |
| 48-37 | Career W/L | 202-134 |
Prediction:
Overall, it's going to be quite tough for Shelton to win this match because clay doesn't come naturally to him. Auger-Aliassime doesn't play the best tennis on the red dirt, but he's far more comfortable on the surface.
Even so, Shelton is the likely winner in this meeting, because he's been playing better recently.
Prediction: Ben Shelton to win in four sets.
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