Preview: US Open: Ben Shelton vs. Denis Shapovalov - prediction, head-to-head, tournament so far

Fresh off another thrilling success to reach the US Open third round, Ben Shelton faces off with Denis Shapovalov in one of the picks of the next round.

The American downed Hubert Hurkacz in a four-set thriller to reach a third match at his home Major for the fourth straight year, and he now faces another left-hander in Shapovalov for a place in the last 16.

Match preview

Shelton has yet to go to a decider at this year’s US Open, but the United States star has definitely not had it easy so far in New York.

Having needed to recover from losing the opening set against Tallon Griekspoor in his tournament opener, the effervescent left-hander found a different level in sets three and four to get the better of Hurkacz on Wednesday.

The upshot of his latest victory was progress to the third round at Flushing Meadows for the fourth consecutive year, becoming the first left-handed American player to achieve the feat, but the eighth seed will not want to stop here.

By securing his 10th hard-court win during the current North American swing, the world No. 9 has surpassed his performance at the two previous Slams — second round at Roland Garros and first round at Wimbledon — and has matched his showing in the last two appearances in Queens.

However, the 23-year-old was eliminated in five sets by Frances Tiafoe two years ago and was forced to retire before the decider against Adrian Mannarino 12 months ago.

Healthier this time, Box Office Ben will back himself to enter the fourth round in Flushing for the first time since 2023, when he ultimately surged to the semi-finals.

Aiming to inflict another third-round exit on the eighth seed is Shapovalov, who has never defeated the American on the ATP Tour.

Nevertheless, both men have been involved in several thrilling or controversial tussles, and the Canadian will hope to be on the right side of the match’s outcome this time around.

Indeed, the former world No. 10 has reason to enter Friday’s meeting with Shelton in good spirits, having reached the final in Los Cabos last month and dropped just one set so far in New York.

The former US Open quarter-finalist now seeks to reach the fourth round in Queens for the first time in six years, when he eventually made it to the last eight, at the time his finest performance at a Grand Slam until 2021’s semi-final run at Wimbledon.

Having surpassed his previous 2026 high at the Majors — second round at the Australian Open — Shapovalov now seeks to take down one of the home contenders for a deep run at the final Slam of 2026.

Tournament so far

Ben Shelton:

First round: vs. Tallon Griekspoor 1-6 6-1 7-6(3) 6-2

Second round: vs. Hubert Hurkacz 6-3 5-7 7-6(3) 7-5

Denis Shalovalov:

First round: vs. Miomir Kecmanovic 6-4 4-6 6-4 6-1

Second round: vs. Luca Van Assche 6-0 6-4 7-6(7)

Head To Head

Dallas Open (2026) - Semi-final: Shelton 4-6 6-4 7-6(4)

Shanghai Masters (2024) - Round of 64: Shelton 6-3 7-5

Mubadala Citi DC Open (2024) - Quarter-final: Shelton 7-6(5) 6-6 defaulted

Wimbledon (2024) - Third round: Shelton 6-7(4) 6-2 6-4 4-6 6-2

Although Shelton leads Shapovalov 4-0 in their head-to-head, the American has not had it all his way in their seemingly one-sided rivalry.

Their first meeting at a Slam went the distance at Wimbledon two years ago, with both players trading sets until the United States star claimed the decider.

Facing off in Washington soon after, Shapovalov was defaulted for swearing at a spectator in the second set after a close match which he trailed at the time of his disqualification.

The pair’s only meeting of 2026 came on the hard courts of Dallas in February, with the Canadian taking the opening set before Shelton fought back to secure the semi-final victory en route to claiming the title.

We say: Shelton to win in four sets

Considering the history of this match-up, it is hard to envisage a straight-sets win for the victor, pointing to another thrilling Shelton-Shapovalov encounter.

Backed by the home crowd, Big Ben is expected to have too much firepower for his Canadian opponent, even if he is unlikely to get the job done in a trice.