American duel for a place in the semifinals

Three Americans have made it to the quarterfinals of the US Open 2023. Two of them are now facing each other in a direct duel. Before the match of Frances Tiafoe against Ben Shelton, the tip on the five years older Tiafoe is favored by the best bookmakers. At the top, only a 1.40 is offered on the success of the world number ten.

Ben Shelton, who is only 20 years old, will not be put off by the supposed underdog role. Quite the opposite, because already in the round of 16 against his compatriot Tommy Paul, the tall left-hander was actually given the worse chances. But after a very convincing performance over long stretches, the youngster has made it to the round of the last eight at a Grand Slam for the second time this year.

Unlike at the Australian Open at the beginning of the year, the strong server, who sometimes still tends to get wild and produce too easy errors, now even wants to make it to the final round.

Frances Tiafoe – statistics & current form

Measured by the win/loss record Frances Tiafoe is currently playing the best tennis year of his career. The 25-year-old has won 37 of his 51 singles matches in 2023. The man from the US state of Maryland has attracted sustained attention, especially on hard courts, although his only two tournament victories this year came on clay in Houston and on grass in Stuttgart.

At the Grand Slams, however, the 1.88 m tall right-hander was not able to prove his undisputed talent. At the first three major events in Australia, France and England, Frances Tiafoe was always eliminated in the third round. So in Flushing Meadowns, the Davis Cup player made it to the second week for the first time this season.

Second straight US Open semifinal?

The good result is by no means a coincidence, because last year the 25-year-old played himself into a real frenzy at his favorite Grand Slam and reached the semifinals, where he then lost in five exciting and intense sets to the eventual title winner Carlos Alcaraz. This time, the aim is to reach the semifinals again. The chances are good in any case. According to the odds, Tiafoe is the favorite against Shelton.

On the one hand, this assessment is certainly based on impressions from the previous year, but equally on the performances shown in the tournament days so far. In four matches, Tiafoe has only dropped one set. The US American, who is very flexible and powerful, serves very well, hardly concedes any breaks and commits only a few simple errors.

In the round of 16 against Hinjikata, he had 15 aces, only 22 unforced errors and only three break points. If he can keep up this performance on the hard court at the Arthur Ash Stadium on Tuesday night, it is worth making a prediction on the more experienced local hero between Tiafoe and Shelton.

Ben Shelton – statistics & current form

Ben Shelton is definitely one of the most talented players on tour. His repertoire of shots is already extremely distinctive. Almost from all positions the youngster, who is only 20 years old, is able to produce winning shots. However, his very self-confident and brash style of play occasionally leads to the man from Atlanta, Georgia, overpacing somewhat and consequently making too many mistakes.

Apart from that, the current world number 47, who has also been ranked 35 in the world, still has to learn to get a better grip on his emotions. There is definitely no lack of positive mindset and talent! With this extremely promising combination of quality, carefree attitude and good form, the young man, who is still coached by his father, has made it to the quarterfinals of the US Open 2023.

Shelton needs to get a grip on his error count

Along the way, he’s taken out uncomfortable players like Pedro Cachin, Aslan Karatsev and Tommy Paul. In all those three matches, however, Shelton dropped a set, but dominated the others with a special ease. In round two, the US player benefited from Dominic Thiem’s withdrawal due to injury.

The fact that the 20-year-old has now reached a Grand Slam quarterfinal for the second time this season comes as quite a surprise. Although he hinted at his talent in matches against Carlos Alcaraz and Stefanos Tsitsipas during the preparatory tournaments in the States, he only managed two wins in six matches.

It also remains to be seen how the youngster will deal with the increased expectations and whether his lack of experience compared to his older rival will be the deciding factor on Wednesday night. We think the underdog can win the set, but in the end we think that between Tiafoe and Shelton, the odds on a handicap win for the favorite will bring more value.

Frances Tiafoe – Ben Shelton Direct Comparison / H2H Balance

Although both players come from the same country and have spent a few years together on the tour by now, there has not been a head-to-head matchup to date that could factor into the rating of this US Open quarterfinal.

Frances Tiafoe – Ben Shelton Tip

The first quarterfinal of the 2023 US Open will be contested by two US players on Tuesday night. Francis Tiafoe is treated as a fairly clear favorite against Ben Shelton according to betting odds. The 25-year-old from Maryland is currently ranked in the world’s top ten for the first time in his career, already reached the semifinals in New York last year and has only dropped a single set in the tournament so far.

Ben Shelton, on the other hand, is somewhat surprisingly in the last eight, dropping a set in all of his completed matches so far, and is also considered a player who can’t always control his emotions over a long period of time. That youthful insouciance could now give way to some excitement against his compatriot at Arthur Ashe Stadium, so we rightly see Shelton as an underdog.

We have therefore decided to tip the odds between Tiafoe and Shelton on the 25-year-old Tiafoe winning the match by at least a four-game difference.