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Ben Shelton scored one of the biggest wins of his career on Tuesday, stunning reigning China Open champion Jannik Sinner in the Round of 16 at the Shanghai Masters.
With the 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(5) win, the American booked his spot in the quarterfinals of a Masters 1000 tournament for the first time. Interestingly, this is also the first time that Shelton has reached the quarterfinals of an ATP Tour event.
Although the 21-year-old has two Grand Slam quarterfinal appearances (2023 Australian Open and semifinal at the US Open the same year), Majors come under the purview of the ITF (International Tennis Federation) and not the ATP.
Against Sinner on Tuesday, Shelton rained in 15 aces compared to the Italian's eight. He also won 73% of first serve points (54/74, converting three of five break points.
It was a very measured overall performance by the American, as he ended the match with 36 winners and just nine unforced errors. By contrast, Sinner hit 31 winners and 13 unforced errors.
Shelton outscored the World No. 4 by four points at the end of the day -- winning 101 points to Sinner's 97.
Ben Shelton to take on Sebastian Korda in Shanghai Masters quarterfinals
Following his win over Jannik Sinner, Ben Shelton will take on compatriot Sebastian Korda in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Shanghai Masters. Korda, unlike Shelton, won his fourth-round clash in straight sets, beating Francisco Cerundolo 7-5, 7-6(6).
The duo have never met on the ATP Tour before. Shelton has dropped two sets in Shanghai this week - one against Sinner and the other against Roman Safiullin in the Round of 32.
Korda, meanwhile, has won all of his matches in straight sets, including a stunning Round of 32 win over second seed and former US Open champion Daniil Medvedev.
The winner of the clash between Korda and Shelton will take on either Fabian Marozsan or Hubert Hurkacz/Zhizhen Zhang in the semifinals. Meanwhile, top seed Carlos Alcaraz, who takes on Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round, remains the favorite to reach the final from the top half of the draw.
