Ben Shelton kept himself alive at the 2024 Dallas Open, and now he'll look to advance to the final by beating Tommy Paul.
This is a pretty interesting matchup between two electric players who can play tennis at a very high level. We've seen this matchup before, and it was a pretty fun one, with Shelton coming out on top. This week, both have played really well.
The attacking style of play has worked really well in Dallas because it's one of the fastest courts we've seen in a while. Shelton had some troubles in his last match against Jordan Thompson but overcame them while Tommy Paul cruised comfortably.
Head-to-head:
We've seen the two battle before, and Shelton generally came out on top. The overall H2H score is 2-1 for the younger American who won the two most recent matches. They first played at the Australian Open last year, and Paul won that match in four sets.
Then they played at last year's US Open, and Shelton won that one in four sets. The most recent meeting happened in Japan last year, and Shelton won that match as well, so it's clear that Shelton has had Paul's number for a while.
It's a simple reason: consistency. Shelton might not have the hitting ability that peak Tommy Paul has, but he's far more consistent with it.
| Ben Shelton | Tommy Paul | |
| 2 | H2H | 1 |
| 16 | Rank | 15 |
| 21 | Age | 26 |
| 4-3 | 2024 W/L | 3-2 |
| 33-30 | Career W/L | 134-108 |
Prediction:
He'll need to be very consistent if he hopes to win this matchup because Paul has been on fire this week. He'll attack any loser ball, so being able to withstand that pressure will be crucial.
Another thing will be his serve because he'll need it working. It's the only way for him to win free points and keep Paul from finding a good rhythm. I think he'll get it done once again.
Prediction: Ben Shelton to win in three sets.
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