Alexander Bublik vs Ben Shelton Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP National Bank Open

Prediction published on 05/08/2024, 07:49  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 05/08/2024 at 08:14 in Tennis Predictions

Ben Shelton is the 11th seed in Montreal. His first round opponent is unseeded Alexander Bublik with the winner facing either Alexei Popyrin or Tomas Machac (both unseeded) next. Here's our prediction of this first round match.

Shelton is a career-high 14th in the new ranking list but only 21st in the ATP Live Race. The American didn't play in the Olympics and instead participated in the hard court tournament played in Washington last week. That went well with him reaching the semi-finals.

The 11th seed will be glad to be back playing on hard courts. He struggled for consistency during the clay and grass court seasons. Earlier this year on hard courts, Shelton made it to two semi-finals and a quarter-final. 

Alexander Bublik has won both of his two previous matches against Shelton. However, both were played on clay and went to a final set. The world number 25 was as high as 17th in May of this year. He's lost his last two matches without winning any of the five sets played.

Those were on clay and grass and he'll be hoping for better form back on hard courts. Bublik did get to the final in Dubai six months ago though he won one match via retirement and another by default. Since then though, he's only won one of his next four matches. We tip Shelton to win this.