Ben Shelton, who has enjoyed a fine season with four decent titles safely won, continues his push for greater recognition at Grand Slam level with a US Open third-round clash against Denis Shapovalov.
Shapovalov and Felix Auger-Aliassime were once considered a pair who might take Canada on to greatness in many competitions, but Auger-Aliassime has struggled to make the next step and Shapovalov’s progress has been disrupted by time away from the court.
Shapo has enjoyed a pretty decent run of things recently, though, making it to the Los Cabos final where he found promising Frenchman Arthur Gea too strong.
Obviously, a clash with Shelton, for some the next big hope for US tennis in the Slams, is a step up on that Mexican fling.
Shelton will expect to win this third-round clash, but fatigue after a long season could also come into play.
Ben Shelton v Denis Shapovalov Tips Summary
Best Bet - Ben Shelton to win & both players to win a set @ 11/10
Alternative Bet - Ben Shelton 10+ aces @ 4/5
Bet Builder - Ben Shelton to win, Denis Shapovalov to win at least one set, Ben Shelton 5+ aces @ 5/4
Ben Shelton v Denis Shapovalov Prediction
Best Bet: Ben Shelton to win & both players to win a set @ 11/10
Shapovalov has shown himself to be more than capable of troubling Shelton in the past, but he has yet to get over the line against the American despite having plenty of opportunities to do so.
The Canadian appears to be enjoying his tennis again and he is back playing at a level where he could make a match of it against the eighth seed.
After a busy, successful campaign - one which has returned four titles - Shelton has one final go at ditching his major maiden tag in the singles at his home Open.
If Carlos Alcaraz is lacking fitness, Shelton looks the player likeliest to capitalise in the bottom half of the draw.
Shelton should win this match, but Shapovalov has run the 23-year-old close in several of their previous meetings and should be able to get a set on the board.
Alternative Bet: Ben Shelton 10+ aces @ 4/5
A total of 10 aces may seem a lot but Shelton served eight in his last meeting with Shapovalov, a close 4-6 6-4 7-6 victory in Dallas in February.
In a 6-3 7-5 victory for Shelton over the Canadian in Shanghai in 2024, the Atlanta-born Florida resident fired down 11 aces. So if he is on his game or anywhere near to being so, as he should be, Shelton could eclipse a total of 10 with little fuss.
And there looks a decent chance that Shapo can win a set or maybe two to help extend the time on court which could boost tallies.
Ben Shelton v Denis Shapovalov Bet Builder Tip
Ben Shelton to win
Denis Shapovalov to win at least one set
Ben Shelton 5+ aces
Pays 5/4
For Bet Builder purposes, punters will have to break up the Ben Shelton to win the match and Denis Shapovalov to win at least one set into individual parts.
But that actually works well for the purposes of this match with a satisfactory alternative bet difficult to find.
Incredibly, punters can bump up their 11/10 about Shelton winning the match and Shapovalov capturing at least one set to 5/4 by adding the home player to serve five or more aces.
Considering Shelton to serve at least 10 bullets has been advised as a standalone bet, it would seem a solid choice to include him to make five or more as part of this bet builder.
Learn more about how Bet Builders work in our Bet Builder guide.
Key Match Stats
Ben Shelton leads Denis Shapovalov 4-0 in their personal series, all on fast courts, yet at least three of those matches were close-fought encounters
Shapovalov has contested seven sets in this year’s US Open singles, while Shelton has played eight
Shelton lost the opening set of his first-round match 6-1, while Shapovalov won the first set of his second-round outing 6-0
Shelton has won 35 main-tour matches this year and lost 13, while Denis Shapovalov has won 16 and lost 17
Shelton has won four ATP main-tour titles this year, including the Montreal Masters last month, but Shapovalov is without a tournament triumph
Read more tennis betting tips and predictions on site.
This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
