Ben Shelton is into his third quarterfinal of the new season, having made this stage of every event he’s played in 2026.
However, his recent passage in Dallas was far from easy, having battled through a three-set epic against Adrian Mannarino.
This has historically been a tough match-up for the American superstar, who was forced to retire injured most recently from their US Open match last year.
And, despite a second-set fightback from the 37-year-old, Ben Shelton was not to be denied on this occasion.
Unsurprisingly, he was effusive in his praise for Mannarino afterwards.
Ben Shelton reacts after reaching the Dallas Open quarter-finals
Speaking to the ATP Media on court, he began with a simple two-word assessment of the clash: “Ridiculous tennis.”
He continued: “I knew it would be a tough battle. I think Adrian (Mannarino) played at an extremely high level, as he always does against me. We’ve played incredible matches against each other, and in the last one, I got injured against him at the US Open.
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“It was undoubtedly a dogfight. He does a lot of things that make the game very, very difficult. Especially when you play against him on an indoor court where the bounce is quite slow.”
Elsewhere, Shelton recently revealed the shot he’s been working on improving.
Ben Shelton’s consistent start to the 2026 season
As touched upon earlier, Shelton has enjoyed a hugely consistent start to the 2026 season, reaching three quarterfinals in as many tournaments.
Naturally, his run in Brisbane was far from exceptional, but losing to Jannik Sinner at that stage of the Australian Open is nothing to be embarrassed about.
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That being said, it marked the ninth straight defeat to the former world number one for Shelton, who does need to make some key changes if he is to start challenging the sport’s best two players.
And now, he is into the Dallas quarterfinals, set to face Miomir Kecmanović for a spot in the semifinals.
