Seeded players Ben Shelton and Arthur Fils will be in action in the Auckland quarterfinals on Thursday. Shelton is going up against Roberto Carballes Baena, while Fils is set for a showdown with Daniel Altmaier.
(1) Ben Shelton vs. Roberto Carballes Baena
Shelton opened at the ASB Classic with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Fabian Marozsan on Wednesday afternoon and as the No. 1 seed–and with a whole host of upsets elsewhere in the top half of the draw–he is a heavy favorite to reach at least the final of this ATP 250. The 21-year-old American is bidding for his second title, having triumphed on the hard courts of Tokyo this past fall. That put the exclamation point on a breakout 2023 campaign for Shelton, who also reached the Australian Open quarterfinals and the U.S. Open semis.
Up next for the former NCAA singles champion on Thursday is a quarterfinal date with Carballes Baena. The 67th-ranked Spaniard has done well to upset both Roberto Bautista Agut (6-4, 6-3) and an in-form Sebastian Ofner (7-5, 6-3). However, this is an even tougher test for Carballes Baena. The 30-year-old does not have a big serve and getting broken even once in a set is often a death knell against an opponent like Shelton.
Pick: Shelton in 2
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(6) Arthur Fils vs. Daniel Altmaier
Fils and Altmaier will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers on Thursday. Their only previous meeting came last fall on the indoor hard courts of Paris, where Altmaier surprisingly rolled 6-2, 6-4. Fils may have been running out of gas at the time on the heels of a long and successful “rookie” season on tour. The 19-year-old Frenchman looks recharged now, with a quarterfinal effort last week in Hong Kong (lost to eventual champion Andrey Rublev in three sets) and now another quarterfinal appearance following straight-set victories over Richard Gasquet and Nuno Borges.
Altmaier has been outstanding so far in Auckland, defeating Marcos Giron 7-6(5), 6-2 and Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6(9), 7-5. The 57th-ranked German has been all over the place throughout his career, with plenty of good results plus some absolute stinkers. More of the same seems to be in store for 2024. Altmaier is 3-1 so far this season but in his one loss he won a grand total of three games against Grigor Dimitrov in the Brisbane second round. Fils–even at his young age–is generally a lot more reliable than Altmaier, so the No. 6 seed should be expected to avenge his Paris loss.
Pick: Fils in 2
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