Ben Shelton had to dig deep earlier today to see off fellow American Ethan Quinn and book his spot in the Halle Open quarter-finals.
However, as a reward for his troubles, the 23-year-old has set up yet another clash with Taylor Fritz.
It marks a near-immediate rematch, having played one another just five days ago in the final of the Stuttgart Open.
There, Ben Shelton reigned supreme, dethroning the defending champion.
He has now previewed another upcoming clash against his compatriot.
Ben Shelton previews his Halle Open quarter-final vs Taylor Fritz
Speaking to Tennis TV whilst still on court earlier today, Shelton began by reviewing a tough afternoon’s work to topple Quinn.
He admitted: “Well, yeah, I mean, putting myself in a difficult situation, but, you know, for me, I knew it one game until a ball change. I’d been in all of his last three service games; I should have broken, you know, probably the last three times. So for me, I was still confident.
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“I got to love-30 immediately, and I thought I had a great chance to break there, and I was returning so well today.
“I knew, you know, my serve went off a little bit, but once I got it back dialled in, it was going to be tough to stop me. So a lot of credit to Ethan, I thought he played an outstanding match. It was hot and a tough match.”
Then, touching on the control and aggression needed to succeed on grass, Shelton added: “Definitely got the control for the most part. I think on a court like this, you have some dodgy bounces, especially later in the week, the court’s ripped up, so you’ve got to be careful with the balls that you take early, take on the rise a lot of little extra steps and honestly take the ball out of the air as much as you can.”
Then, naturally asked to preview his clash with Fritz, he offered his preview: “No, I think a different court, but similar tactics.
“Obviously, he’s gonna be coming after me hard, as you always do, and same with me coming after him.
“So, I’m excited to match up again. We have a nice rivalry going. A lot of really tight matches and super excited to get to test myself against one of the best grass-courters again this week.”
Andy Roddick told Shelton and Fritz what they must do to challenge for a Wimbledon title following that Stuttgart Open, and both are doing well to fulfil his wishes.
Ben Shelton’s head-to-head record against Taylor Fritz
As referenced, this will be the second match that these two American superstars have played in as many weeks, both of which will represent high-stakes grass-court encounters.
The first saw them clash for a title, but this, at the ATP 500 level, would see one of them reach a semi-final.
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Shelton currently leads their head-to-head, with three wins from four encounters; he is also on a three-match winning streak against Fritz as well.
The 28-year-old last tasted victory against his younger compatriot in 2023.
Shelton recently branded Fritz an inspiration for American tennis, but he will be keen to stamp his authority over this idol once again.
