Ben Shelton – Page 2 – TennisReporters.net

US Open picks: Tuesday, Sept 5

September 4, 2023 by Matthew Cronin

Coco Gauff over Jelena Ostapenko

Many people are thinking that Gauff is ready to win the U.S. Open for the first time. She is playing wonderful ball, with her terrific backhand, and at the net, where she really reads it. She has lost a few sets, but in the third set, she jumps on the ball, and she focuses. It is possible that she can be shaky, in the match, but she is maturing.

Ostapenko actually won Roland Garros years ago, and she put in so many winners, as she went for it, all the time. But now, while she can crush the ball, currently, she can wait, here and there, until she can go for the right shot. Yes, she can make some crazy shots, and it will go out. That is her, but Ostapenko really likes to play in front of the massive crowns. However, Gauff will challenge her, backhand versus backhand, and she will win it, 3-6, 7-5, 6-4.

Novak Djokovic over Taylor Fritz

The American Fritz has played much better at the U.S. Open, with some intense strokes. Before that, he was somewhat confused, and his return was spotty. However, over the past two years, his forehand and his backhand has been concisely powerful. However, he has only won one ATP 1000, and he has never gone deep in the Slams. But maybe he is finally more mature, point after point.

But he has to face against Djokovic, who has won 23 Grand Slams, as well as a huge amount of the ATP 1000s. Clearly, the 36- year-old is better than just about everyone, as his backhand is the best ever, and his intelligent serves. He can also run very quickly. Yes, it will be above 90 degrees on Tuesday, so they will eventually be tired, if it goes long, more than three hours. Djokovic has beaten him all seven times, including at Cincinnati, when he crushed him 6-0, 6-4. Yes, two year ago, at the 2021 at the Australian Open, Fritz looked very good, but in the fifth set, the Serbian raised up, and Fritz fell.

This time at the U.S. Open, Fritz will win a set, but Djokovic will bury him, stroke to stroke, and he will grab it 6-4, 6-7, 6-3, 6-3.

Karolina Muchova over Sorana Cirstea

Three years ago, the Czech beat Cirstea at the U.S. Open in the third round in a massive match, grabbing it 7-6(7). Will they do it again on Tuesday? Sure, why not? They are both hitting deep, into the corners, and attacking it. They can bash the ball, and they also can be steady. Yes, Cirstea can back off, and the reason why is because she has yet to win a huge tournament, but at this year, the veteran has changed her tactics. So she has won a bunch if matches.

However, Muchova is one of the best players when she can lock it in. She has yet to win a Grand Slam, but at least she came close at Roland Garros. However, she can collapse, when she isn’t playing well.
The 33-year-old Cirstea is finally understanding that if she wants to go further, she will have to take the gloves off. She will, and the Romanian will win it 6-4, 5-7, 7-6

Frances Tiafoe over Ben Shelton

The 20-year-old Shelton has already had a fantastic tournament, and he is growing, day after day. He is physically strong now, and he is faster, running, too. Also, he can mix it up, and down the line. He will improve a lot over the next 10 years, but right now, Tiafoe believes that he can actually win it at the U.S. Open. That is a huge task, as he has yet to win a Slam, or an ATP 1000. Maybe he is ready. He can look stellar when he is on, trying to paint the lines. His forehand and his backhand are darn stout, but he is going to have to do it against Shelton, who will be pumped, up. As Patrick McEnroe said: “This is the biggest match like this in a long time. A very long time.”

However, Tiafoe will control him, and he will win it 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: Ben Shelton, coco gauff, Frances Tiafoe, jelena ostapenko, Karolina Muchova, Matt Cronin, Matthew Cronin, Novak Djokovic, Sorana Cirstea, Taylor Fritz, us open

US Open picks: Sunday, Sept. 3

September 3, 2023 by Matthew Cronin

Sorano Cirstea over Belinda Bencic
This is certainly surprising, as Cirstea has been pretty decent over the past 12 years, but she never went very deep at the tournaments. But now she is, not only because she is smarter, on court, but now she can leeway harder.

Bencic really likes to have large rallies, and then when she can run closer the net, she can hop on the ball. Both of them have been around for a long time, and they know that in order to win the match, they have to think about exactly what to do, when it is tied. Cirstea is playing as well as she can, and this time she will win it 7-5, 4-6, 7-5.

Tommy Paul over Ben Shelton
At the start if the year, with the Americans, who would have thought that they will face each other in the fourth round at the U.S. Open? Almost no one. However, here they are, playing excellent tennis, on the hard courts, and sprinting side to side. Over the past year and a half, Paul began to push himself, just running, but really to go for it. His backhand is better than he was, and his first serve is much stronger.

Shelton is very young, and he will get better, months after month, but he still needs to be more brilliant, during the rallies. Yes, he can rake the ball, and cheer, after he hits a winner, but he need to be very focus, all the time. As Paul said: “I’m doing things I have never done; never been to the fourth round of the Open, never played on Ashe, never won on Ashe. So it’s exciting for me right now.”

Paul really wanted to be the second week, here, and while he can back off, he will swing hard. He will win it 7-6, 5-6, 6-4, 7-5.

Coco Gauff over Caroline Wozniacki
In her last set, Gauff was on inferno, with her better first serve, her terrific backhand, and her intelligent at the net. She is improving fast, even when with her now sturdy forehand. But what about Wozniacki, who just came back last month, to play again? The former No. 1 was always so consistent, and her backhand was phenomenal. However, her forehand was decent, but not great, and the reason why as she only won one Grand Slam. She did not return harder. There are different things, and now it looks like she is raring to go.

This should be a very close match, into the third set, and while Wozniacki has studied her, Gauff will attack her late, and she will win it 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Taylor Fritz over Dominic Stricker
The San Diego man is rolling, rolling. Fritz is not only hitting the ball so hard, but he is really mixing it up, all over the place. He can make some crazy shots, yet he can also know which way exactly to go.

The young Switzerland Stricker is quite young, and the lefty plays all over the world, with some fine weeks. He has not yet taken out the big boys, but at least he qualified, so he must think that he can shock Fritz. All the players want to do it, but on the court, Fritz will push him way back and win it 6-4, 6-3, 6-3.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: Belinda Bencic Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton, Carolina Wozniacki, coco gauff, Dominic Stricker, Matt Cronin, Sorano Cirstea, Tommy Pau, us open

The Picks on clay in Estoril, Charleston: Thursday, April 6

April 6, 2023 by Matthew Cronin

Ben Shelton over Dominic Thiem
The 20-year-old American is still learning all the time, and at the 2023 Australian Open, he was so excited, winning four matches before he lost in the quarterfinals. He is very fast, and after he hits a fine winner, he would celebrate, very loud. He is coming up, but after that, he went to four tournaments, winning one match and four losses. He must be upset.

However, in Europe, Shelton can start with his quality, but right now, he has to face the former U.S. 2020 champion Thiem. It to the Austria for years to became excellent, on court, with some heavy strokes. His forehand and his backhand are bottomless. He played so consistently, grinding, and running around for eternally. Unfortunately, he became hurt, significantly, and he could not play for a while, but after he came back, it looked like that soon enough, he would come back at least into the top 10. Right now, though, he is really struggling, and he has lost with so many players. He is ranked No. 111, which is way back there, as this year, he has won just two wins and eight losses. Someday, the former No. 3 Thiem will rise again — he hopes — but Shelton will thud him in three sole sets.

Hubert Hurkacz over Bernabe Zapata Miralles
The Spaniard has been pretty decent, reaching the semis in Buenos Airs and Rio de Janeiro, on the clay, but on the hardcourts, Miralles loses pretty early. However, in the dirt, he can drive with some long points, and he does like to blend it up. He is currently No. 43, and he has never reached into the top 40, so very soon, he thinks that if he can shove himself, he can go further.

However, Hurkacz plays a lot, and he will travel all the time. There at times when he is totally locked in, but when he is mentally tired, he will try to make the winner, to early. But throw this aside, the No. 12 can whip his hard forehand and his backhand. He is very tall, but with that, he is not that fast. Regardless, Hurkacz will win in three sizable sets.

Ons Jabeur over Caroline Dolehide
Back at the 2022 U.S. Open, Jabeur made it into the final, and she was so close of winning a Grand Slam for the first time. She couldn’t, though, as the No.1 Iga Swiatek pushed her way back. Jabeur has so many shots, with her spin, her depth and her intelligence. However, after she started to lose, early, and since then in September, she has yet to bring into a final. Maybe the No. 5 is a little bit hurt, or maybe she is thinking that she should have played better in the U.S Open.

Either way, she is a ground runner, so the American, Dolehide, is a fine doubles player, but in the singles, she has not won enough matches. She is trying to get into the top 100 with the singles, as the American is a fine doubles competitor, reaching the semis of the U.S. Open with Storm Hunter. That is great, but it is more important to play the singles, so Dolehide has to add some fine, new shots. She will know that if she wants to get into the top 50, someday, then she will have to leap much higher. Jabeur will win in two interesting sets.

Ekaterina Alexandrova over Julia Grabher
The Russian is once again trying to move into the top 10, and to show with the fans that her style is super interesting. The current No. 17 Alexandrova did win Seoul, Korea, in the fall, knocking down Jelena Ostapenko in the final. She also beat the former two time champ, Vika Azarenka, and she nearly upset Swiatek in the Czech. That shows that when she is barred in, then she can put it away in the corners. She did reach into the quarters at Indian Wells, and again, it was a very close match, but Petra Kvitova out-hit her in three, wild sets. The Austria Grabher did win some small events last year, and of course, she wants to get much better, but she has to refine a lot against the prime players. Alexandrova will win in two easy sets.

Matt’s current week picks

Correct: Shelby Rogers over Caty McNally
~~Paula Badosa over Leylah Fernandez~~

4 out of 6: 66.7% correct

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: Ben Shelton, charleston, Ekaterina Alexandrova, Estoril, Hubert Hurkacz, Matthew Cronin, Ons Jabeur

Jordan Thompson stuns Stefanos Tsitsipas

March 11, 2023 by Matthew Cronin

INDIAN WELLS – Players can overjoyed, especially they are hitting their shots very deep from both sides. Also, strong returns and the ability to chip it when you are going into the net can be a big assets on these courts.

Jordan Thompson did, upsetting Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6(5) in the third set. Tsitsipas missed two key shots, and the Aussie Thompson finally rose.

“I have been on a bit of run of matches. I felt confident, even playing against a top-10 player I felt comfortable in my own skin and what I was doing, and just snuck out a win,” Thompson said. “It feels unbelievable.”

The first and second rounds can always be tricky. Players who have not played yet at this tournament can be unsure of the surroundings. However, many of the players have done it for years and years and know you have to adjust, and fast.

Three veterans won on Friday: Jelena Ostapenko, Barbora Krejcikova and Petra Kvitova. They hope they can bang into the second week. They all have won a number of big events, but they can also be ineffective if they are not feeling right.

Kvitova and Ostapenko will face off in the round of 32. The last time they played was on the Eastbourne grass last year, with the Czech veteran winning easily. But in California on hard courts, Kvitova will try to hit big immediately, with her first serve, backhand and forehand. However, her foot speed has dropped a little bit.

Kvitova said, “I think you can expect quick game, one, two shots max. We played final of Eastbourne before I lost on the hard court from the match point against Jelena. We practiced few times as well. We know each other pretty well. Yeah, it will be quick game for sure. I will not have a time to think where I’m going to put my ball. Any times I gonna feel it I will go there.”

There are some amazing matches already in the desert. On Thursday night, Sofia Kenin somewhat easily beat Sloane Stephens 6-4, 6-1 late at night. Kenin was very good — finally — bending down and blasting her forehand and backhand. A few years ago, the former Roland Garros champ Stephens was so steady, but now she is mentally down, and she has yet to add a few more shots. She went from being steady, but currently she is so erratic.

Emma Raducanu, who beat Danka Kovinic, is trying to get back into the top 10 this year. She looked very decent, and she is more aggressive, yet she does need to get a string of victories.

American Emma Navarro took down Caty McNally in three sets, when it was very late and cold. She was steady, while McNally was frustrated.

On the court, Ben Shelton is so enthusiastic and he celebrates all the time. When he is on, then he can attack, and he can be steady. He crushed Fabio Fognini 6-4, 6-1. However, in the next round he has to play Taylor Fritz, who won the tournament last year. On the big stadium, in the afternoon, the sun will be very warm, and they will sweat hard in what should be an excellent matchup.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: Ben Shelton, indian wells, Jordan Thompson, Matt Cronin, Matthew Cronin, Petra Kvitova, Sofia Kenin, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Taylor Fritz

McEnroe and Evert mull Medvedev and Osaka at US Open

August 27, 2022 by Matthew Cronin

Both with John McEnroe and Chrissy Evert have won at Flushing Meadows. They were the best players back then, but now they have retired. However, they are on ESPN. While they talked about with Serena and Venus Williams earlier this week for a long time, still, they had a lot of comments. Some very good ones, and some real questions.

Outside of the famous Williamses, there are other players who could go very deep — or even to win — the US Open.

The No. 1 Daniil Medvedev won it last year, but since then, he has looked pretty good, but not spectacular. The former No. 1, Naomi Osaka, who won it twice at the USO, she has been struggling a lot.

According with McEnroe, Medvedev has not improved enough.

“He looks more or less the same. You wonder what’s going on in his head, obviously, with what’s going on with that war,” McEnroe said. “So, I can’t imagine it’s not playing a part in all these Russian players [who couldn’t play at Wimbledon] and what’s going on in that part of the world. Having said that, I still think he’s one of the favorites, one of the top two couple guys, no question about it. So that’s obviously an interesting storyline to follow. And tactically there’s a whole other thing. Obviously he plays so far back. It seems like that will catch up to him … players should figure out a way to deal with that and he’s got to adjust.”

Osaka has been phenomenal when she is so focused, with her huge first serve, and her hard hitting with her forehand and backhand. In her first Grand Slam final in 2018, the fans were almost stunned when she exploded out of nowhere and she upset Serena. But eventually, after Osaka won the 2021 Australian Open, she became depressed. Mentally, the Japanese player had to stop, a lot. She wouldn’t play that much, and here and there, she could walk on the court and be pleased, but in the matches, maybe she didn’t want to be there.

Evert said, “You don’t know how she’s made us very aware that mental health is very important in her tennis. And I think she’s hitting the ball fine. I’ve watched her the last couple of weeks. She’s hitting the ball fine. She’s made some coaching changes [she does not have a real coach, currently] by which I think was probably because of the time — I don’t know why. But anyway, she’s made some changes. And I think she just isn’t match-tough. I think that’s the one thing that’s hurting her. She just hasn’t played enough matches where she feels her instincts are back and she feels confident going for the shots, going for shots on big points like when she was playing her best tennis. If she gets to the second week, I think she’s going to be dangerous. She loves the hard courts and I think she’s going to feel good playing at the US Open.”

McEnroe thinks that Osaka can be thrilled, on and off the court, or she can be very gloomy. When she is smashing her forehand and backhand, then she can put together a ton of winners. But she is now ranked No. 44. He thinks the 24-year-old needs to step it up.

“Did she look happy? Does she look sad?,” McEnroe said. “Does she look this way or that? So, in a way it made it more difficult for her. So that part I think she didn’t take that. It seems like that part may not have been taken into account enough. And so that’s made it trickier. I don’t know where her head’s at. Obviously, she’s incredible on hard courts. And I’m sure if her head is into it the way it can be, she’s obviously one of the favorites, in my book. But at the moment it doesn’t seem like she’s all there. But she’s won it twice [at the US Open] and she’s won four majors [also twice at the Aussie Open] on hard courts. To think she wouldn’t be capable of doing it would be crazy.”

NOTES
Here is my story about Alize Cornet on Tennis.com.

Cornet, 32, is set to break the consecutive Slam appearance record, with her 63^rd straight major at the US Open. She could retire next year, but right now she is playing very good, so maybe she can continue for a couple years. She will probably make decision in 2023.

Here is my Tennis.com story on Maxime Cressy. The French-American, said, “I do big things when I’m really focused.” He will have to. The best think is that he is seeded for the first time at a major at No. 30. In the third round, if he gets there, he might face Stefanos Tsitsipas. That would be a huge battle.

19-year-old Ben Shelton is in the draw based on winning the NCAA singles this year. If he makes it to the third round he might have to face against the No. 1, Daniil Medvedev, who won it last year. That is almost impossible, but you never know. … Jessica Pegula has yet to reach into the quarters at the USO, but she is ranked No. 7. So this time, she has to be so real and be much more fierce. Just do it.

TennisReporters.net plans on commenting on the US Open draws on Saturday and Sunday.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: Alize Cornet, Ben Shelton, Chris Evert, daniil medvedev, flushing meadows, Jessica Pegula, john mcenroe, Maxime Cressy, naomi osaka, us open