Ben Shelton vs. Alex de Minaur: Where to Watch, ATP Toronto Preview

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Estimated start time: 8:10 p.m. ET, Tuesday, August 5

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Ben Shelton vs. Alex de Minaur: Match Preview

Two days ago, I wrote that it was a shame that de Minaur and Frances Tiafoe had only met three times, because they both play crowd-pleasing tennis in their own ways, and together they would make for reliably entertaining rivals. We saw that in their round of 16 match, which swung back and forth and went down to the wire.

The same applies to Shelton vs. de Minaur, who have never played before. Their lack of head-to-head matches is more understandable, considering that Shelton is still fairly new to the tour. But putting these two across from each other seems like a recipe for watchably feisty competition. That should be especially true when they’re ranked No. 7 (Shelton) and No. 8 (de Minaur), as they are now.

Shelton seems to understands what he’s in for.

“He’s a dawg,” Shelton says. “I’m ready for it. And for people who haven't heard that saying, that’s a good thing.”

“He’s very fast. He’s in a great rhythm, you saw what he did in D.C. He’s a great front runner, and you can never count him out when he’s down. So I’m prepared for a war.”

All of that is correct. de Minaur is coming off a title run in Washington and has won eight straight matches. That workload doesn’t seem to be slowing him down; on Sunday against Tiafoe he made an Alcarazian get that went viral. He’ll make Shelton earn everything he gets.

Can Shelton earn enough? Shelton has the height and m.p.h. advantage, and he’ll match his serve-driven power game up against de Minaur’s darting, never-say-die defense. We know what we’ll get from de Minaur. Whether Shelton can stay consistent enough, and finish points where he has the advantage, may decide the result. He’ll need his serve and his forehand, of course, but he’ll also need his volley to be on point.

Shelton has played well recently, but he has also tends to hit a ceiling at some point in a tournament, and nothing works the way it had been in his earlier matches. de Minaur could be that ceiling in Toronto. Winner: De Minaur

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