Cincinnati Open 2025: Alexander Zverev vs Ben Shelton preview, head-to-head, odds, prediction, and pick

Match Details

Fixture: (3) Alexander Zverev vs (5) Ben Shelton

Date: August 15, 2025

Tournament: 2025 Cincinnati Open

Round: Quarterfinal

Venue: Lindner Family Tennis Center, Mason, Ohio, USA

Category: ATP Masters 1000

Surface: Hard

Prize Money: $ 9,193,540

Live Telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Sky Sports | Canada - TSN

Alexander Zverev vs Ben Shelton preview

One of the quarterfinal matches at the 2025 Cincinnati Open will feature the third seed, Alexander Zverev, taking on the last American standing in the men's draw, fifth seed Ben Shelton.

Zverev has won 42 of the 56 matches he has played, with the German player's only 2025 title coming in Munich. He has had two runner-up finishes in 2025 as well, coming second at the Australian Open (lost against Jannik Sinner) and the Stuttgart Open (lost to Taylor Fritz).

Zverev has won 18 of the 23 matches on the hard courts this year, with his best coming at the Melbourne Major. He also had a decent start to the North American hard-court swing, reaching the semifinals at the Canadian Open, where he lost 3-6, 6-4, 6-7 (4) against Karen Khachanov.

At the Cincinnati Open, Zverev started with a bye in the first round, following which he won 6-3, 6-4 against Nishesh Basavareddy and 6-4, 6-4 against 27th seed Brandon Nakashima in the next two rounds. He faced Karen Khachanov in the fourth round and got the win via retirement, as the Russian retired in the second set.

Ben Shelton has won 35 of the 51 matches in 2025, with his best success coming at the Canadian Open, where the American player won his maiden Masters 1000 title with a 6-7 (5), 6-4, 7-6 (3) against Karen Khachanov in the final. He also had a runner-up finish at Munich this year.

Shelton began his North American hard-court swing with a semifinal finish at the Citi DC Open, where he lost to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. Following that, the American player has been on a nine-match winning streak across Toronto and Cincinnati.

Shelton began with a bye in the first round in Cincinnati, following which he won against Camilo Ugo Carabelli via retirement, and won 7-6 (3), 6-3 against Roberto Bautista Agut. In the fourth round, he won 6-4, 6-4 against the 22nd seed Jiri Lehecka.

Alexander Zverev vs Ben Shelton head-to-head

Zverev has a 3-0 lead in the head-to-head against Shelton, winning the last match 7-6 (8), 7-6 (1) at the Stuttgart Open.

Alexander Zverev vs Ben Shelton odds

Player Name	Moneyline	Handicap Bets	Total Games
Alexander Zverev	TBD	TBD	TBD
Ben Shelton	TBD	TBD	TBD

(Odds will be updated once available)

Alexander Zverev vs Ben Shelton prediction

Zverev has been solid behind his serve in the three matches in Cincinnati, winning 77 and 51 percent of his first and second serve points, respectively. He has converted 9 of the 15 break point opportunities, and has been broken only once in three matches.

Shelton has won 79 percent of his first serve points and 58 percent of his second-serve points. He has converted 7 of the 15 break point opportunities, and has conceded a service break only once in the three matches.

Even though Shelton is on a winning streak, Zverev's overall record against left-handers and a favorable match-up against Shelton make the German the favorite to win the upcoming match.

Pick- Zverev to win in three sets

About the author

Sagnik, a Mass Communication and Journalism graduate, is a tennis journalist at Sportskeeda. Before finding his spot in the tennis writing team, he worked as a junior content specialist for academic content writing firms for a couple of years.

Before putting out any information in the public domain, Sagnik makes sure that every element of his content is well-researched and backed with credible data so that there is no misinterpretation of facts or quotes and ethical standards are maintained. To do so, Sagnik follows reputed websites like the Tennis Channel and Tennis TV, and renowned journalists on social media.

He is a fan of former player Roger Federer, and just like his favorite player, Sagnik likes to bring perfection to his write-ups by providing concise and on-point content. Speaking of the ‘GOAT’ debate, Sagnik believes that it is a bit unfair to compare the legends of the game from different eras who have played on different terms. But if he were to pick one, he’d go for Novak Djokovic based on his tally of 24 Grand Slam titles.

When not writing about tennis and technically analyzing the sport, which he believes are his 'forte', Sagnik indulges in reading books.

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Edited by SAGNIK DATTA