Ben Shelton might not be the frontrunner projected to win Indian Wells 2024. However, by having the home crowd supporting him, American fans will expect Shelton to make a deep run in the ATP 1000 tournament.
Ben Shelton, one of the four Americans to be a top 20 seed in the BNP Paribas Open, is seeded #16. As one can expect, Shelton will not have an easy way to the finals. Being placed in the bottom half of the draw, the 21-year-old has been given a bye in the Round of 128. In the second round, what promises to be an entertaining clash between two exciting young talents, Shelton is likely to face the in-form Jakub Mensik on Friday.
If he lives up to the expectations and overcomes the 18-year-old, Shelton will more than likely face Francisco Cerundolo in the Round of 32. With the Argentine being out of form as of late, the southpaw can expect to enter the fourth round of the tournament where he could face a huge challenge – Jannik Sinner.
After stunning the Australian Open 2024 champion, Shelton can expect many more tough matchups. Barring any early round upsets, the 20-year-old will either face Andrey Rublev or Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarterfinals. After winning four straight matches, Carlos Alcaraz could be the man awaiting Shelton in the semifinals. Ultimately, Shelton will mostly have to defeat five-time Indian Wells Masters champion Novak Djokovic to win his debut ATP 1000 title.
This is what Ben Shelton’s path to the finals looks like:
First Round – BYE
Second Round – Jakub Mensik
Third Round – Francisco Cerundolo
Fourth Round – Jannik Sinner
Quarter-Final – Andrey Rublev / Stefanos Tsitsipas
Semi-Final – Carlos Alcaraz / Alexander Zverev
Final – Novak Djokovic / Daniil Medvedev
Ben Shelton and his lackluster start to the season
After a quarterfinal appearance at the 2023 US Open, Ben Shelton was expected to take the next big step. However, Shelton’s failed to live up to the expectations, so far. He began the year on a tough note, suffering a shocking loss against Roman Safiullin in the opening round of the Brisbane International.
The left-handed youngster’s performance in the ASB Classic was relatively better. By making it to the semifinals of the contest, fans and pundits were convinced that he was in for a deep run in the Australian Open 2024. However, that didn’t seem to be the case. After defeating Roberto Bautista Agut and Christopher O’Connell in the first two rounds, Shelton suffered a loss to Adrian Mannarino in the third round.
Since his Round of 32 loss at Melbourne, Shelton participated in two ATP Tour Tournaments – Dallas Open & Acapulco Open. While he suffered a loss to eventual champion Tommy Paul in the semi-finals at Dallas, the 21-year-old lost to Casper Ruud in the last-eight matchup.
Shelton isn’t the favorite to lift the Indian Wells Masters 2024 trophy, nor have pundits selected him as a dark horse for the same. However, fans can look forward to Ben Shelton stunning a few title contenders and having a better performance than his Round of 64 loss in the 2023 edition of the tournament.
