Tennis News

Shifting to Shelton: How a kind word and a headband won over young Gabe

Has Ben Shelton found his newest and biggest fan?

When the 21-year-old American walked onto court to face Tomas Martin Etcheverry on Thursday at the Cincinnati Open, he received the majority of support at his home event.

However, there was one young boy, Gabriel Green, who was cheering loudly for Etcheverry and could not hide his disappointment at the Argentine’s three-set defeat. After the match, Shelton found Gabriel in the crowd at the Lindner Family Tennis Center, where he chatted with the youngster before giving him his headband.

Ben’s newest fan likes his headband VERY MUCH👌@BenShelton #CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/OKdqcVqEjf

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 16, 2024

A day later and Gabriel was courtside again, but this time wearing Shelton’s headband and loudly supporting the 12th seed, who defeated Fabian Marozsan to reach the quarter-finals on Friday.

“He was going at me yesterday,” Shelton said when asked about Gabriel, who was born in Mexico and is coached by an Argentine. “I was playing his guy Etcheverry. I heard him the whole match and after the match he looked pretty upset and I went up to him and said, ‘I have a lot of respect for your cheering because when I was a little kid and watching my dad’s teams college matches, that was me’.

“I think that is where the love from the game starts. So it is really cool to see things like that from kids at such a young age. I went over and gave him a headband and I gained a fan yesterday, so maybe we will see him out here one day.”

Shelton will play third seed Alexander Zverev in the quarter-finals and will hope to see Gabriel courtside once again.

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Shelton reverses 'really rough’ start, surges into Cincy QFs

Ben Shelton earned his career-best 30th match win of the season and advanced to his second ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final Friday at the Cincinnati Open.

The 12th-seeded American made a rocky start, but leaned on his hefty first serve to dig him out of trouble and defeat Hungarian Fabian Marozsan 6-4, 6-3 amidst windy conditions. Shelton is set to face third seed Alexander Zverev in a blockbuster quarter-final.

“It was a really rough start of the match, pretty windy,” said Shelton, who committed 18 unforced errors to Marozsan’s 29. “It felt like every ball off his racquet was coming really, really fast. He was hitting some nukes and it took me a little while to speed up and adjust, but once I got rolling in the second set, I started to feel really confident.”

After the opening set featured three breaks of serve, Shelton lifted his aggression and drew on his home support. He dropped just two points behind his first delivery in the second set to advance after one hour, nine minutes and sealed the match with a net-cord winner, for which he apologised when embracing Marozsan at net.

The 21-year-old lefty, No. 14 in the PIF ATP Rankings, is the youngest American man to reach the Cincinnati quarters since 20-year-old Jared Donaldson in 2017. Shelton and Tiafoe are the lone Americans left in the draw as they aim to become the first American male to win Cincinnati since Andy Roddick in 2006.

Shelton’s quarter-final clash with Zverev will mark their first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting.

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Monfils stuns Alcaraz in Cincinnati

Gael Monfils earned his biggest win in more than two years on Friday at the Cincinnati Open, where he stunned World No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 to capture the ninth Top 3 victory of his career.

Play was cancelled on Thursday night due to rain, with Alcaraz leading Monfils 6-4, 6-6(1/3). However, the Frenchman came out firing upon the resumption, remaining composed to build on his early lead in the tie-break and seal the set on his third set point.

In windy conditions, Monfils was the more consistent in the decider to inflict just an eighth defeat of the year on Alcaraz. The 37-year-old saved all four break points he faced and rode the momentum he had gained in the second-set tie-break to earn his first Top 3 win since he beat then-No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings Daniil Medvedev in March 2022 in Indian Wells.

GLORIOUS GAEL ✨@Gael_Monfils stuns Alcaraz in an epic three set encounter to advance in @CincyTennis !#CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/ANpoZg5eJ8

— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 16, 2024

Alcaraz was competing in his first hard-court match since March in Miami, where he reached the quarter-finals. The 21-year-old has since lifted major trophies at Roland Garros and Wimbledon and won a silver medal at the Paris Olympics.

The five-time Masters 1000 titlist Alcaraz struggled to find his usual level against Monfils and was visibly frustrated in the third set, smashing his racquet after failing to break Monfils’ serve at 1-2 in the decider.

Alcaraz continued to push but was ultimately unable to turn proceedings around against Monfils, who held firm on serve to advance. With his two-hour, 30-minute triumph, Monfils became the second oldest player to defeat a Top 3 opponent this century, joining Roger Federer, who at 38 beat World No. 2 Novak Djokovic at the Nitto ATP Finals in 2019.

Monfils pumped his chest after sealing victory before he let out a roar and embraced the support from the crowd. The former World No. 6, who beat Montreal champion Alexei Popyrin in the first round, will need to pull double duty on Friday in Ohio, where he will return later to face 15th seed Holger Rune in the third round.

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Zverev, Rublev reach Cincinnati QFs

Alexander Zverev became the 10th player in history to reach 30 ATP Masters 1000 quarter-finals on Friday at the Cincinnati Open, where he moved past Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta 7-5, 7-6(6).

The third-seeded German recovered from squandering break advantages in both sets to eventually earn his 51st win of the season. Zverev lifted his sixth ATP Masters 1000 title in Rome earlier this year and will aim to add to that tally in Ohio, where he next meets Ben Shelton or Fabian Marozsan.

Zverev, who struck 26 winners in his two-hour, five-minute win against Carreno Busta, has fond memories in Cincinnati. The 27-year-old captured the trophy in 2021 and reached the semi-finals last season.

A deep run at the hard-court event will also boost Zverev’s hopes of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals. A two-time champion at the year-end event, Zverev is third in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin.

In other action, Andrey Rublev made it two wins in two weeks against Brandon Nakashima. He moved past the 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF champion 7-6(5), 6-1.

Rublev defeated Nakashima en route to his second ATP Masters 1000 final of the season in Montreal last week. After fending off both break points he faced in the first set against Nakashima on Friday, the No. 6 player in the PIF ATP Rankings raced clear in the second set. He hit 12 winners and committed just two unforced errors in the set to advance after 82 minutes.

Rublev will next play World No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals. Rublev, who is 34-16 on the year, overcame Sinner in Montreal.

Rublev is up one spot to sixth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin following his win and is aiming to make his fifth consecutive appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals.

Felix Auger-Aliassime earned a convincing 6-3, 6-1 victory against seventh seed Casper Ruud. The Canadian, who struck 26 winners to Ruud’s three, according to Infosys ATP Stats, will return to court Friday evening not before 7 p.m. to face Jack Draper.

Auger-Aliassime now leads Ruud 4-3 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series. The 24-year-old trailed Ruud 1-3 as recently as April, but Felix has scored wins against the Norwegian in Madrid, at the Paris Olympics and in Cincinnati to pull ahead.

By advancing to the Round of 16, Auger-Aliassime collected his 50th match win at ATP Masters 1000 level. He is the third player born in 2000 or later to reach that milestone, behind Jannik Sinner (69) and Carlos Alcaraz (59).

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Sinner gets walkover into QFs, where he has chance for revenge

Jannik Sinner has advanced to the quarter-finals of the Cincinnati Open after Jordan Thompson withdrew from their scheduled third-round match Friday with a rib injury.

The World No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings will now get the opportunity to avenge last week’s loss to Andrey Rublev in Montreal. The World No. 6 defeated Sinner 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 in the quarter-finals, snapping a three-match losing streak to the Italian.

Sinner leads their Lexus ATP Head2Head series 5-3.

Sinner, who is chasing his first title since winning the ATP 500 in Halle on grass in June, defeated American qualifier Alex Michelsen 6-4, 7-5 in his opening-round match in Cincinnati.

Last week Sinner became the first player to qualify for November’s Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.

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British number two Norrie withdraws from US Open

British number two Cameron Norrie withdraws from the US Open because of the forearm injury which also prevented him playing in the Olympics.

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Norrie withdraws from US Open

Cameron Norrie announced on Friday his withdrawal from the 2024 US Open due to a forearm injury.

The Brit, who sits at No. 47 in the PIF ATP Rankings, has not played since mid-July at the Nordea Open in Bastad, where he lost to Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-4 in Nadal’s first event back from injury.

 

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The British No. 2 missed representing Team GB at the Paris 2024 Olympics due to the injury.

Norrie reached the third round at Flushing Meadows last year, falling to Matteo Arnaldi 6-3, 6-4, 6-3. His best result at the US Open came in 2022 when he reached the fourth round, before losing to Andrey Rublev in straight sets.

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Play starts in Cincinnati following rain

Play has started at the Cincinnati Open on Friday after rain caused a one-hour, 20-minute delay.

The action began at 12:20 p.m. local time, with WTA star Iga Swiatek opening play on center court against Marta Kostyuk. Carlos Alcaraz will resume his match against Gael Monfils following Swiatek. The Spaniard led the Frenchman 6-4, 6-6(1-3) when play was cancelled on Thursday night due to rain.

No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings Jannik Sinner will then take on Australian Jordan Thompson in the third round. If Alcaraz overcomes Monfils, he is scheduled to face Holger Rune later on Friday afternoon.

Alexander Zverev has opened proceedings on P&G Grandstand against Pablo Carreno Busta, while Andrey Rublev, Casper Ruud and Ben Shelton are all scheduled to compete on Stadium 3. Rublev plays Brandon Nakashima, Ruud takes on Felix Auger-Aliassime and Shelton meets Fabian Marozsan.

ORDER OF PLAY – FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2024
CENTER COURT start 12:00 pm
WTA – [1] I. Swiatek (POL) vs [15] M. Kostyuk (UKR)

Not Before 12:30 pm
Second Round – ATP – G. Monfils (FRA) vs [2] C. Alcaraz (ESP) 46 66
Third Round – ATP – [1] J. Sinner (ITA) vs J. Thompson (AUS)

Not Before 3:00 pm
Third Round – After Suitable Rest – ATP – [15] H. Rune (DEN) vs G. Monfils (FRA) or [2] C. Alcaraz (ESP)
WTA MATCH
Third Round – ATP – F. Tiafoe (USA) vs J. Lehecka (CZE)

P&G GRANDSTAND start 12:00 pm
ATP – [3] A. Zverev (GER) vs [PR] P. Carreno Busta (ESP)

Not Before 12:30 PM
WTA – [7] Q. Zheng (CHN) vs [Q] M. Frech (POL)

Not Before 1:00 PM
WTA – [3] A. Sabalenka vs E. Svitolina (UKR)
WTA – D. Shnaider vs L. Fernandez (CAN)

Not Before 7:00 pm
ATP – [7] C. Ruud (NOR) or F. Auger-Aliassime (CAN) vs J. Draper (GBR)
WTA – [7] D. Schuurs (NED) / L. Stefani (BRA) vs [3] A. Muhammad (USA) / E. Routliffe (NZL)

HOLCIM STADIUM 3 start 12:00 pm
Third Round – ATP – [WC] B. Nakashima (USA) vs [6] A. Rublev

Not Before 12:30 pm
Second Round – ATP – [7] C. Ruud (NOR) vs F. Auger-Aliassime (CAN)

Not Before 1:00 pm
Third Round – ATP – [12] B. Shelton (USA) vs F. Marozsan (HUN)
Third Round – ATP – [5] H. Hurkacz (POL) vs F. Cobolli (ITA)

Not Before 5:00 pm
WTA MATCH

After Suitable Rest
WTA – [1] K. Siniakova (CZE) / T. Townsend (USA) vs [OSE] L. Fernandez (CAN) / Y. Putintseva (KAZ)

COURT 10 start 12:00 pm
WTA – [10] L. Samsonova vs [LL] E. Avanesyan (ARM)

Not Before 12:30 PM
WTA – [WC] C. Wozniacki (DEN) vs A. Pavlyuchenkova
WTA – M. Andreeva vs [5] J. Paolini (ITA)

Not Before 2:30 PM
WTA – P. Badosa (ESP) vs Y. Putintseva (KAZ)

After Suitable Rest
WTA – [4] S. Errani (ITA) / J. Paolini (ITA) vs [OSE] L. Noskova (CZE) / D. Shnaider

COURT 4 start 12:00 pm
Second Round – ATP – [1] M. Granollers (ESP) / H. Zeballos (ARG) vs H. Nys (MON) / J. Zielinski (POL)

Not Before 12:30 pm
Second Round – ATP – [7] H. Heliovaara (FIN) / H. Patten (GBR) vs W. Koolhof (NED) / N. Mektic (CRO) 67(3) 22
Second Round – ATP – [5] S. Bolelli (ITA) / A. Vavassori (ITA) vs I. Dodig (CRO) / J. Murray (GBR)
Quarterfinals – ATP – [3] R. Ram (USA) / J. Salisbury (GBR) vs [WC] M. McDonald (USA) / A. Michelsen (USA)

COURT 7 start 12:00 pm
WTA – T. Mihalikova (SVK) / O. Nicholls (GBR) vs H. Dart (GBR) / E. Perez (AUS)

Not Before 1:00 PM
WTA – [6] J. Pegula (USA) vs K. Muchova (CZE)

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Draper fights back to beat Tsitsipas in Cincinnati

British number one Jack Draper battles back from a set down to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas and reach the third round at the Cincinnati Open.

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Fils & Jarry oust Cincinnati second seeds, reach QFs

Arthur Fils and Nicolas Jarry earned a hard-fought victory Thursday at the Cincinnati Open, where they overcame second seeds Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden 6-4, 6-7(5), 10-8 to reach the quarter-finals.

Teaming for the second consecutive week, Fils and Jarry, who lost in the Montreal first round, saved the two break points they faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats.
Bopanna and Ebden, fourth in the PIF ATP Live Doubles To Turin, led 8/6 in the Match Tie-break before Fils and Jarry tallied four consecutive points to advance.

<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/08/16/01/45/bopanna-ebden-cincinnati-2024-doubles.jpg” style=”width:100%;” alt=”Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden during Thursday’s action in Cincinnati.” />
^{Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden during Thursday’s action in Cincinnati. Credit: Mike Lawrence/ATP Tour}

The French-Chilean duo will meet fifth seeds Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori or Ivan Dodig and Jamie Murray in the last eight.

In other Match Tie-break action, Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski downed defending champions Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni 3-6, 7-5, 10-5 while Neal Skupski and Michael Venus defeated sixth seeds Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-3, 2-6, 10-4.

Though it was not the result for which Gonzalez and Molteni had hoped, Molteni struck a shot of the season contender early in the second set. The Argentine miraculously hit the ball around the net post with a one-handed stab that painted the sideline.

Third seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury, who won the ATP Masters 1000 event in 2022, survived Germans Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz 7-6(4), 7-6(3). Fourth seeds Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic ousted Marcelo Melo and Alexander Zverev 6-3, 7-6(2).

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