2023 Canadian Open ATP 1000 R32 - Carlos Alcaraz [1] (SPN) v/s Ben Shelton (USA)

[Rafa4LifeEver]

The first ever meeting between two talented young players, how does it go?
Can Shelton's lefty serve pose big trouble for Alcaraz or does Alcaraz wear Shelton from the ground?

Vote and discuss

 

[Bill Lobsalot]

Shelton will have plenty of time for a haircut and a mani/pedi before Cincy.

 

[Rafa4LifeEver]

Shelton will have plenty of time for a haircut and a mani/pedi before Cincy.

And?

 

[fundrazer]

And?

Think he's implying that Shelton is going down.

I would agree. He is gonna get demolished in rallies unless he finds some incredible form.

 

[Rattie]

Shelton has had 3 matches on hard recently, unlike Carlos, but this should not be enough.

 

[jimjam]

Shelton absolutely destroying these returns. But Alcaraz manages to hold.

 

[flyingboris]

Young Shelton giving Alcaraz some trouble early in the second.

 

[flyingboris]

Dang, I hope more people are watching than commenting, because some of the shots by both guys are unreal!

 

[flyingboris]

Things are not easy today..

 

[Rafa.the.Magnificent]

I see a worthy rival for Carlitos in Ben Shelton!

 

[ghostofMecir]

Shelton played a pretty good match here and it’s fun to watch. Carlitos is just too good though. The read that he gets on return is crazy because Shelton was hammering some monster service, and Carlitos was putting it back in play.

 

[chuckersthenut]

Shelton kinda folded there at the end but I caught the last three games and both seemed to be hitting well. Sorry it didn't go to a decider.

 

[mental midget]

sounds like a decent match?

i think shelton could get some big results on tour, great athlete, solid fundamentals, good competitor.

 

[Eureka]

Congrats to CA for getting the job done in straights against an excellent effort by BS. Another promising youngster who will, I hope, do well. These 2 will probably play many matches n the future.

Too many shanks from CA today, and he seemed less than focused at times. I hope it's just the lag between Wimbly and here in his first competitive match, and he is in better form for Hurkacz.

 

[Moose Malloy]

 

[ghostofMecir]

Shelton’s movement just isn’t good enough to hang in baseline rallies. If he can improve it just a little bit, improve his return just a little bit, and improve that lefty serve out wide on the ad court (could be more devastating), he will be quite a menace to deal with.

 

[Rafa4LifeEver]

Dang, I hope more people are watching than commenting, because some of the shots by both guys are unreal!

If you were in stadium, it was damn good!!
A great experience for me after a disappointing one yesterday.

 

[Topspin_80]

Young Shelton giving Alcaraz some trouble early in the second.

Funny that you call Shelton young, when he's playing someone (Alcaraz) that is younger than him (Shelton)

Alcaraz born in 2003
Shelton born in 2002

 

[Rattie]

I wasn’t surprised that this was a tricky one for Carlos. Shelton got to the quarters of a slam and has been flying up the rankings in the last 12 months. Plus he has huge power and was under no pressure at all with nothing to lose.

Carlos hasn’t played a tour match for almost four weeks, it was his first match back on a hard court against an unfamiliar opponent who was serving bombs (one serve was 145mph the commentators mentioned)
Too many errors from Carlos and his first serve percentage wasn’t great either. Yet he worked it out and got it done in straights.

I don’t imagine any of the other top seeds not having a bit of trouble facing Shelton playing like he did.

Now he faces Hubie, another huge server. No easy ride for the No 1 in this tournament so far.

 

[Rattie]

Carlos’s take on Shelton

 

[flyingboris]

Funny that you call Shelton young, when he's playing someone (Alcaraz) that is younger than him (Shelton)

Alcaraz born in 2003
Shelton born in 2002

Haha, fair enough. I looked it up after making my dumb “Young Sheldon” reference. They differ by a little under seven months, Oct 9 2002 for Ben, May 5 2023 for Alcaraz.

 

[Djokovic_is_the_best#1]

Solid performance from Alcaraz with some great shots too. He’s so quick round the court and he’s already at home back on the hard courts: