Left-handers squared

And 3–0 for the American with 3 matches in 2024. Let’s break it all down…

The two big left-handed servers meet after having brushed aside some solid baseliners. That really reflects their current form, but also their ability to hold up in rallies, a part of their game I find is often too underrated. Normally, it’s easy to understand the stats from their past matchups: the key points tend to lean a bit more toward the American. He’s a more structured player, less erratic, and just as crazy as Shapo. Normally, we get a Shapo who’s a bit hot-headed, prone to double faults... Normally. What do we do with today? This might surprise you, but I actually find Shapo good, very good even, but not on fire. It’s a tricky psychological exercise for me to picture him being more clutch than Shelton while staying consistent over an entire match. Mentally he’s in a good place, and this will be their first meeting indoors. And Ben really had a rough time too against his last two opponents. But the Canadian’s odds aren’t huge, so I don’t think it’s worth getting carried away...