Shelton's rampage

Will Shelton be able to keep up his fantastic level for one final match?

It feels like this tournament has been going on for an eternity (shoutout to the 2-week format that everyone clearly loves)... but here we are, at last, in the final! Khachanov is coming off a set 3 TB win against Zverev, while Shelton surprisingly beat Fritz in somewhat easy straight sets! Khachanov remained very solid and was able to dictate play with his forehand in the first set, largely due to Zverev being too passive. Zverev became a bit more aggressive after that, especially stepping in a bit to return second serves. For the rest of the match, it was a tight and serve-dominated battle where Khachanov saved a match point and got the win. As for Shelton, we can keep it very brief... he absolutely dominated Fritz with a masterful performance in every aspect! Shelton has really improved his variety and patience lately, which have been on full display in the last two matches against Fritz and De Minaur. Along with his huge serving, power, and athleticism, it makes for a scary combination!

OK, so onto the final! We have two Big Servers with some serious firepower... Shelton is more dynamic and comfortable at the net, while Khachanov is more solid and consistent. I would say the matchup favours Shelton... he has already shown that he can deal with consistent players (De Minaur) and Big Servers (Fritz) in his last two matches! He was able to adapt his game perfectly, hanging patiently in rallies and overwhelming them at the right times, which is very encouraging. On the other hand, Khachanov has not yet faced a player like Shelton in this tournament; his toughest opponents, Zverev and Ruud, are both very one-dimensional. Shelton has been playing with a lot of variety, slices, and the fact that he can bring this battle away from the baseline a bit more is a huge plus for him. Shelton is coming off two almost flawless matches. We need to ask some questions about whether he can maintain this level (is this the New Shelton 2.0?), especially since he tends to struggle more on return and in rallies. I would not be surprised to see his level drop at least a bit, for a moment... We have a meeting between the two in Indian Wells this year, which Shelton won in straight sets. Shelton was able to be the aggressor with his forehand, as well as coming to the net a lot, as expected.

To conclude, my issue with Khachanov in this particular matchup is that he is heavily dependent on Shelton not being at his best, as the match is on Shelton's racket. Shelton is able to take away the rhythm he prefers, while Khachanov does not have as many tools to stop Shelton from imposing himself and putting his mark on this match. For Khachanov to win, he will need to maintain his strong serving so far this tournament and be prepared to capitalize on any dip in Shelton's level...