Ben Shelton cruises through first two round of National Bank Open
After receiving a bye in the opening round, Shelton took care of business in the Round of 64 against Adrian Mannarino. Things were a bit tougher in the next round against Brandon Nakashima, but Shelton improved to 5-0 against his fellow countryman with a three-set win. More details on each match can be found below.
Shelton now faces World No. 17 Flavio Cobolli on Sunday around 7 p.m. ET. Shelton won the most recent meeting between the two in Acapulco, but Cobolli took both games in 2024. Shelton has improved since those losses, but history still matters on the court.
Shelton is also enjoying a nice doubles run with Arthur Fils. The duo reached the quarterfinals with a win on Saturday.
Round of 64: Ben Shelton def. Adrian Mannarino — 6-2, 6-3
For a third straight tournament, Shelton cruised through his opening match, this time against Adrian Mannarino. Shelton won 90% of his first-serve points and fended off each of the break points Mannarino reached. It's Shelton's first victory over the Frenchman, who defeated him at the Australian Open last year and in Miami the year before.
Although a strong-serve approach hasn't worked in the past, Shelton located his serves better this time around, delivering 16 aces in the straight-set win.
"Usually with him a big serve doesn't always work, because his hands are so good and he stands up on the baseline," Shelton said after the match. "I have to hit spots and I hit spots really, really well today. I am really happy with the way I served."
Round of 32: Ben Shelton def. Brandon Nakashima — 6-7(8), 6-2, 7-6(5)
The Round of 32 brought more of a challenge with Brandon Nakashima taking the first set against Shelton. It's the first set Nakashima has ever won against Shelton, and the two have faced off four times over the past two seasons. That's not to say Nakashima is significantly worse than Shelton. Most sets between the two require a seventh-game winner or tiebreak, including the opening set of this one.
Shelton went long and dropped the tiebreak, putting his back against the wall. His response? A 6-2 beating to force a third set. Shelton likes to challenge Nakashima and play up at the line. It's worked before, so why change the plan at this point? Another tiebreak came in the third set, but Shelton finished it off with an ace.
It certainly wasn't Shelton's best game, but it's an important win if he wants to hold onto his career-high No. 7 ranking.
Doubles dominance with Arthur Fils
After back-to-back opening round exits in doubles play, Ben Shelton has found his groove alongside Arthur Fils. The two have paired twice before, but not since the Basel 500 in October.
They came back to force a third set in the Round of 32 against Nathanial Lammons and Jackson Withrow. Doubles play is a bit different, where the third set is played as a 10-point tiebreak. The Round of 16 went a lot cleaner, with Shelton and Fils winning in straight sets, 6-4, 7-5.
The duo takes Centre Court against fourth-seeded Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. The German pairing recently knocked out Alex Michelsen and Frances Tiafoe to advance to the quarterfinals.
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