The 4th round of Indian Wells will put an eagerly awaited and interesting challenge on the stage: the protagonists will be Jannik Sinner and Ben Shelton, who will face each other for the third time in their career. The young US rising star is ready for the challenge, explaining how he need to be aggressive, to put in troubles his rival.
“It’s one of those matches that you prepare for thinking that it will be a great physical battle, especially considering his way of playing and his aggressiveness.
It’s a match in which I will have to be aggressive, try to take advantage of my opportunities and believe in myself.
I played two matches against Sinner, both on hard courts, so I can’t wait to face him again. I’m sure the audience will be fantastic. These are the matches I want to play,” said Shelton after eliminating Francisco Cerundolo in three sets.
Sinner instead analyzed: “You always have to adapt to the characteristics of the opponent you play against. Shelton has one of the best serves on Tour and is also left-handed. He plays very well with both his forehand and his backhand, I still have to prepare for the match. He will definitely try to change something compared to the last time.”
Ben Shelton© Clive Brunskill / Staff Getty Images Sport
Sinner vs Shelton: the start of a new rivalry?
As mentioned at the beginning of the article, the two tennis players are in perfect balance in head-to-head matches. The American won the first match at the Shanghai Rolex Masters. The Italian took his revenge a few weeks later at the Erste Bank Open.
Both matches were balanced, but in Vienna Sinner managed to close the match in two sets, raising the level in the final part of each set. We must then consider the confidence acquired by the Italian in recent months, in which he won his first Slam at the Australian Open and opened a series of 17 consecutive victories.
Could this be the start of a new rivalry?
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