Ben Shelton is into the Canadian Open quarter-finals, and will now face the unenviable task of bypassing Alex de Minaur.
The Australian is enjoying a rich vein of form at the moment, coming off the back of a title in Washington. He has started the season in North America perfectly, and is poised to be a real threat over the coming months.
However, Shelton will fancy his chances of disrupting that momentum, given he has all the tools to put the match beyond doubt. Whilst Frances Tiafoe gave De Minaur chances, this big-serving American, if on form, will put the ball beyond him before he gets the chance to show off his work-rate and speed.
It will certainly be an intriguing contest though, between two heavily opposing styles.
Despite that, Shelton insists he’s excited about the match-up.
Ben Shelton says what he loves about Alex de Minaur ahead of their Canadian Open match
In fact, in his post-match press conference after knocking Flavio Cobolli out of the Canadian Open, he had nothing but positive things to say about his next opponent.
“Yeah, he’s a dawg,” he began. “I’m ready for it. And for people who haven’t heard that saying, that’s a good thing (laughing). He’s very fast. He’s in a great rhythm; you saw what he did in DC. He’s a great front-runner, and you can never count him out when he’s down.
“So I’m prepared for a war. I’m really excited. It’s our first matchup. We’ve had some practice, some competitive practice sets. He puts it on the line in practice as well; that’s one of the things that I love about him. Yeah, I’m really excited. I love playing against, you know, some of the best players in the world in the late stages of tournaments, so that’s the only thing that you can hope for, and what I always look forward to.
“He’s playing amazing tennis. You guys saw it last week in DC. We saw some of the highlights of what he’s done so far here. Yeah, I’m really enjoying and looking forward to that matchup.”
It’s already been a landmark tournament for the 21-year-old, with Shelton becoming the youngest American since Andy Roddick to achieve a key milestone in Toronto.
Ben Shelton and Alex de Minaur both eye big personal milestones in Montreal
So much will be at stake in tomorrow’s clash between these two top-ranked players, as both Ben Shelton and Alex de Minaur chase a huge personal milestone.
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After all, neither has claimed a Masters 1000 title in their careers, yet they have been handed a golden opportunity to do so with how the tournament has played out.
Even before the event began, Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic withdrawing from the Canadian Open will have offered a boost to players like this duo, who so often struggle against the very best on tour.
Such a large number of absences will likely not happen again anytime soon in a tournament of this magnitude.
Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
So, when De Minaur and Shelton do battle tomorrow in Toronto, there will be so much more on the line than just a spot in the semi-final. Personal history awaits.