Ben Shelton finally won a match again, which set up a beauty against Carlos Alcaraz at the Canadian Open in Toronto.
I'm naming this one The Smilebowl simply because we're going to see a lot of smiles from both players. There probably aren't two tennis players that are having as much fun on a tennis court as these two are having this season on the ATP Tour.
Everything that they do on a tennis court is done with a smile and it's just great to see. They genuinely love playing tennis and people love watching them play. Ben Shelton made sure we get this match by defeating Bernabe Zapata Miralles in the first round. It was his first win since Wimbledon, as he struggled greatly in the past few weeks.
Alcaraz himself hasn't won a match since Wimbledon unless you count the Hopman Cup, where he played really well. He admitted to feeling fatigued at the event, which is why we haven't seen him play since then. Last year he played leading up to Canada, but it didn't really amount to much before the US Open, as he hopes to change that this year.
Head-to-head
Obviously, this is their first match as they're both fairly young. This is the first full season for Shelton on the ATP Tour which is why we haven't seen them play yet. It's going to be a tough one for him, probably the hardest match he ever played.
Prediction:
So, as you can imagine, Carlos Alcaraz is the favourite. So what could happen here? Well, first of all, we might see a rusty Alcaraz, even though he's made a habit of making statement wins in the first rounds of an event.
Shelton has power in his game and a good serve, both of which will be useful in the matchup. Unfortunately Alcaraz has even more power and even more precision with a healthy dose of confidence making him a nightmare player to play in conditions like these.
Prediction: Carlos Alcaraz to win in two sets.
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