Ben Shelton vs Matteo Arnaldi Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP Acapulco Open

Prediction published on 28/02/2024, 06:23  by Daniel Ngulu in Tennis Predictions

Ben Shelton and Matteo Arnaldi, both unseeded, will meet on Thursday in the second round at the Mexican Open. The winner will then advance to the quarterfinals where a showdown with either Casper Ruud or Dusan Lajovic awaits. Ben Shelton battled through three sets to defeat Daniel Evans in the first round. Returning for the second successive season at this event, the American had to come from a set down to win. He has now set a new personal record here after he failed to go past the first hurdle in his debut. Shelton has had a strong start to the year and has produced two semifinal finishes thus far. This was in Dallas and Auckland. He has won seven times in 11 outings and five of his wins have come on hard courts. An eighth win here could propel him up two places in the live ranking to 15th.

Matteo Arnaldi has moved up four places to 38th in the live ranking after his first-round win. This is his career high, a second successive victory will bump him up one more place. The Italian, who is making his debut in Acapulco, produced a shock three-set win over fourth seed Taylor Fritz. Fritz has been one of the more in-form players in the ATP this season and had won five straight matches before facing Arnaldi. The win should have the 26th-year-old confident of offsetting another American. Arnaldi has had a shaky start to the year and has so far compiled a 6-5 record. All 11 matches have been played on hard courts.