Jannik Sinner and Ben Shelton will meet in the fourth round of the Shanghai Masters once again, having contested a match last year as well.
The two players met quite a few times in recent months, and it all started with their match in Shanghai. At the 2023 Shanghai Masters, they met in the fourth round of the tournament, and like in all of their matches, Sinner was the favorite.
That time, he was coming into the match on a seven-match winning streak, but it didn't matter. Shelton beat the Italian player in three sets, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(5), to reach the quarter-finals of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament.
They will meet again this year, and it will be in the same round. To get there, Sinner bested Taro Daniel and overpowered Tomas Martin Etcheverry despite needing three sets.
On the other hand, Shelton easily beat Denis Shapovalov and he also overcame Roberto Carballes Baena to set up this fourth-round blockbuster.
Although Shelton spent almost two hours less on the courts, he might still be at a disadvantage. His opponent had much more time to rest, as his last match before their Wednesday clash was played on Sunday.
The two youngsters have already met four times, but after the American player's initial success, he wasn't able to win another match or even another set against Sinner.
The Italian won the other three matches that they played; however, it must be said that in all of those matches, Shelton was able to take one set to a tie-break, showing how close their matches had been.
After their meeting in Shanghai, they met almost immediately after, and Sinner was able to get the revenge, beating Shelton at the 2023 Vienna Open, 7-6(2), 7-5.
They didn't play again in 2023, but they met twice this year. It was again a meeting at the ATP Masters 1000 event, as Sinner bested Shelton in Indian Wells, 7-6(4), 6-1.
Then, they also met at the Grand Slam level, and once again, the World No. 1 player won, besting the American at Wimbledon, 6-2, 6-4, 7-6(9).
Sinner leads the H2H 3-1, and he also leads on hard courts 2-1. The only statistic that Shelton is close in is matches on outdoor hard courts, in which the score is tied 1-1.
| Jannik Sinner | Ben Shelton | |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | H2H | 1 |
| 1 | Rank | 16 |
| 23 | Age | 21 |
| 61-6 | 2024 W/L | 37-22 |
| 251-80 | Career W/L | 66-49 |
Although Shelton managed to beat Sinner once before, from their following three matches, it became quite apparent who had the upper hand in this matchup.
The Italian player didn't lose a single set and won all the matches relatively easily. Still, Sinner's recent form and the fact that all included at least one tie-break must be mentioned.
Despite reaching the China Open final and winning both of his matches in Shanghai, it's clear that the 23-year-old hasn't been in optimal form. Shelton could use this to his advantage and win at least a set, but winning a match might be too difficult for him.
Prediction: Jannik Sinner to win in three sets.