Ben Shelton is on a terrific run at the 2023 Japan Open in Tokyo, but can he keep it going against compatriot Tommy Paul?
Shelton has been playing amazing tennis for a good month now, as it started back at the US Open and continued throughout the Asian swing. He reached the US Open semi-final, followed that up with the Shanghai Masters quarter-final and now is staring at another semi-final at a big event.
Getting there will require taking out Tommy Paul during one of his good weeks. That will be tough, but there will be chances for him if he does come up with his best level. We saw them battle before, and generally, it's a close matchup, but one player does seem to have the edge from what we've seen so far.
Head-to-head:
It's Ben Shelton, as he won the most recent matchup at the US Open pretty confidently. Paul is a streaky player, a very streaky player. He's having a good week in Tokyo, which makes him dangerous, but there is always a chance that he will revert to his questionable choices, which lost him in the US Open match.
He does have a win over Shelton, but it came at the Australian Open earlier this year when the youngster was pretty inexperienced on this level. That's vastly different now.
Prediction:
So, what does Shelton need to do to win the match? He needs to serve well, and he needs to avoid long rallies. The latter part is guaranteed against Paul because he also doesn't like long rallies. The first part can be iffy a bit because he's had some lacklustre serving performances recently.
Another factor will be fatigue as he played a lot of matches recently, and both this week have gone to three sets. He's certainly feeling it by now, but he's also winning, so make of that what you will.
Prediction: Tommy Paul to win in three sets.
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