American tennis sensation Ben Shelton defeats Stan Wawrinka in straight sets to earn a quarterfinal berth and set up a thrilling matchup with top seed Andrey Rublev at the Swiss Indoors Basel.
With a quarterfinal berth at the Swiss Indoors Basel, where he will take on top-seeded Andrey Rublev, American sensation Ben Shelton has maintained his stellar fall campaign. In a tense battle on Center Court, Shelton defeated Swiss favorite Stan Wawrinka 7-6 (2), 7-5 in straight sets to go to the round of eight.
Shelton emphasized the difficulties he had after the game. “I felt I was just tough in the big moments,” he remarked, referring to the Swiss supporters who were cheering Wawrinka on. “I’m pleased with how I protected my break points, even though I was having trouble returning his serve. I won the match by remaining clutch during the pivotal moments.
Shelton’s performance during the indoor season is becoming better with this victory. Shelton has shown development and tenacity in a number of ATP competitions since his breakthrough year in 2023, when he advanced to the US Open semifinals. Shelton is demonstrating that he is a formidable opponent as he enters the off-season after defeating Frances Tiafoe in a close five-set encounter at the US Open and defeating Daniil Medvedev in a thrilling comeback at the Laver Cup.
The American’s strong lefty serve gave him the advantage in the heated two-set showdown between Shelton and Wawrinka. Shelton quickly jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the opening set and dominated the tiebreak, winning it 7-6. Shelton served out the match with power after both players held serve in the second set until he made a vital break at 5-5. Shelton won 58 of 73 points on his serve and recorded an outstanding 34 winners against 19 unforced errors.
Following a successful semifinal run in Stockholm, where he defeated Rublev in two tiebreaks, Wawrinka, who recently announced plans to compete in 2025, suffered the loss. Wawrinka, who was playing Shelton for the first time in Basel, fought hard but was unable to keep up with the younger player in the latter games of both set.
Shelton is now getting ready for a crucial quarterfinal matchup with Rublev. With a victory over Shelton, Rublev, who is presently sixth in the PIF Race to Turin, might improve his chances of earning a berth in the ATP Finals. The Russian has won both of his matches in straight sets, giving him a clean run thus far.
Shelton and Rublev will play each other for the first time on Friday, and it should be an exciting matchup because of Shelton’s powerful serve and Rublev’s unrelenting baseline play.
In Basel, third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated Dutch qualifier Botic van de Zandschulp 7-6 (3), 7-5, by a score that was almost exactly the same as Shelton’s. In the quarterfinals, Tsitsipas will face seventh-seeded Arthur Fils, adding to the excitement as the best players compete for the Swiss Indoors championship.