Ben Shelton’s winning run came to an end in Cincinnati as he suffered a crushing blow right before the US Open.
Enjoying the best week (or 12 days…) of his professional career last time out, Shelton won his maiden Masters 1000 title at the Canadian Open.
Returning to action almost immediately in Cincinnati, Shelton eased into the quarterfinals with straight-set wins over Camilo Ugo Carabelli, Roberto Bautista Agut, and Jiri Lehecka.
Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
Standing between Shelton and a place in the Cincinnati Open semifinals was German world number three Alexander Zverev, the 2021 champion.
Suffering one of the biggest losses of his season to date, Shelton lost to Zverev, 2-6, 2-6, winning just four games in his quarterfinal defeat.
Reacting to his Cincinnati Open exit on social media, Shelton explained what went wrong during his comprehensive defeat to Zverev.
Ben Shelton says he ‘finally ran out of gas’ against Alexander Zverev in Cincinnati
Posting on Instagram in the immediate aftermath of his quarterfinal loss, Shelton shared his thoughts on the match.
“Finally ran out of gas,” he said.
“Great couple of weeks, but ready to get after it, New York City.”
Shelton, in fairness, has played a hectic schedule over the past few weeks, making deep runs at the Washington Open, Canadian Open, and Cincinnati Open.
DateMatchOpponentResultScoreTuesday, July 22Washington Open – 2RMackenzie McDonaldWin6-3, 6-4Thursday, July 24Washington Open – 3RGabriel DialloWin6-3, 6-2Saturday, July 26Washington Open – QFFrances TiafoeWin7-6, 6-4Sunday, July 27Washington Open – SFAlejandro Davidovich FokinaLoss2-6, 5-7Wednesday, July 30Canadian Open – 2RAdrian MannarinoWin6-2, 6-3Saturday, August 2Canadian Open – 3RBrandon NakashimaWin6-7, 6-2, 7-6Monday, August 4Canadian Open – 4RFlavio CobolliWin6-4, 4-6, 7-6Wednesday, August 6Canadian Open – QFAlex de MinaurWin6-3, 6-4Thursday, August 7Canadian Open – SFTaylor FritzWin6-4, 6-3Friday, August 8Canadian Open – FKaren KhachanovWin6-7, 6-4, 7-6Monday, August 11Cincinnati Open – 2RCamilo Ugo CarabelliWin6-3, 3-1 (RET)Wednesday, August 13Cincinnati Open – 3RRoberto Bautista AgutWin7-6, 6-3Thursday, August 14Cincinnati Open – 4RJiri LeheckaWin6-4, 6-4Friday, August 15Cincinnati Open – QFAlexander ZverevLoss2-6, 2-6Ben Shelton’s schedule post-Wimbledon
Playing 14 matches in 24 days, it’s no surprise Shelton ‘ran out of gas’ during a quarterfinal match against one of the best players on the ATP Tour.
That’s not to say Shelton won’t be disappointed, however, as a defeat of that magnitude is never good for confidence.
Photo by Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Perhaps more worryingly for Shelton, the defeat was his fourth in a row against Zverev, as the American continues to struggle against the 24-time ATP Tour champion.
Ben Shelton’s head-to-head record against Alexander Zverev
Shelton has played four career matches against Zverev, losing all four.
2024 Cincinnati Open QF – Alexander Zverev beat Ben Shelton, 3-6, 7-6, 7-52025 Munich F – Alexander Zverev beat Ben Shelton, 6-2, 6-42025 Stuttgart Open SF – Alexander Zverev beat Ben Shelton, 7-6, 7-62025 Cincinnati Open QF – Alexander Zverev beat Ben Shelton, 3-6, 7-6, 7-5
The 22-year-old has only managed to take one set off Zverev, at the Cincinnati Open 12 months ago.
Playing in the quarterfinals just as they did on Friday evening, Shelton won the first set he ever played against Zverev, taking a 6-3 lead on Centre Court.
Pushing the German to a tiebreaker in the second, Shelton couldn’t quite get over the line as Zverev fought back to level the match at one set apiece.
Securing a late break in the third at 5-5, Zverev served it out to secure his place in the semis with a 3-6, 7-6, 7-5 win.
While there is no shame in losing to a player of Zverev’s calibre, if Shelton wants to become a Grand Slam contender, he’s going to need to start picking up wins over the best players in the world.
Heading into the US Open, Shelton has a losing head-to-head record against four of the five players ranked above him on the ATP Tour.
1. Jannik Sinner (1-6)2. Carlos Alcaraz (0-3)3. Alexander Zverev (0-4)4. Taylor Fritz (1-1)5. Jack Draper (0-1)
A combined 2-15 record against Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Zverev, Fritz, and Jack Draper simply isn’t good enough, something Shelton will no doubt be well aware of.
Whether he can begin to turn the tides of those rivalries remains to be seen, but it will certainly be worth looking out for over the coming months.
Shelton is set to return to action at the US Open, which begins on Sunday, August 24.