It’s the clash of the two brightest stars in the tennis world! “I just want to kill everything in front of me, man” – Ben Shelton has already set the tone ahead of his next match by resharing a post of the NBA star, Anthony Edwards, on his Instagram stories. Shelton will face Alexander Bublik in the R32 match at the Madrid Open on Monday. Who has the edge in this enticing contest?

Ben Shelton has been improving his game year after year, but Alexander Bublik on the other hand, has struggled a bit with his consistency on the bigger stages of the game. Both of them had a decent start to their season this year, it will be now interesting to see if they can hold their momentum for the rest of the season. Arantxa Sanchez Stadium is ready to witness a thrilling contest between the two brightest prospects of the tennis world.

Ben Shelton vs Alexander Bublik: Preview

Ben Shelton has already tasted a title triumph this year. He defeated his compatriot and close friend, Frances Tiafoe by 7-5,4-6,6-3 in the finals of the ATP Houston. Shelton has also reached the SF of two tournaments and QF of the Mexican Open this year. How far can he go this time in Madrid? Well, in Madrid he got off to a winning start and completely dominated his first match at the Spanish capital against Tomas Machac. He defeated the Czech tennis player by 6-0,6-2. Shelton hit four aces and committed just two double faults in the entire match.

His first-serve win percentage was 79% and his second-serve win percentage was 57%. But he could only manage to convert five of his thirteen breakpoints against Machac. If we take a close look at the stats of this big server this year, the 21-year-old tennis star has fired a staggering 192 aces so far this season and committed only 78 double faults. Shelton has won 87% of his service games in 2024. Will his serves prove to be the most effective weapon against Alexander Bublik?

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Well, Bublik also possesses powerful serves in his armory! The 26-year-old Kazakhstani started the season in style by winning the Open Sud de France title in February. After that, he made some deep runs into the tournaments in the Middle East. But he struggled a bit to make his presence felt for the rest of the tournaments before taking his flight to Madrid. In Madrid, Alexander Bublik got off to a winning start by defeating the local lad, Roberto Carballes Baena by 1-6,6-2,6-2.

Bublik hit six aces and committed seven double faults against Baena. His first-serve win percentage was 74% but it dropped to 60% on the second serve. He converted four out of his seven break points against the Spaniard. Now, it will be interesting to see if he can convert all his chances and climb to the top of “The Mountain” on Monday.

Looking at his records for this season, his numbers are quite astonishing! Alexander Bublik has fired 232 aces against his opponent so far this season but has committed 143 double faults. He has won 76% of his service games, how many service games can he win against the American tennis sensation?

Shelton vs Bublik: Head-to-Head

Both the tennis stars have met only once in their entire careers. It was in 2023 at the Italian Open, and the Kazakhstani had the last laugh over the American at that time. Bublik defeated Shelton by 6-4,1-6,6-2. He hit five aces compared to ten by Ben Shelton, however, Shelton had committed more double faults than Bublik in that match. Alexander Bublik has a first serve win percentage of 82% while it dropped to 56% on the second serve in that match. Ben Shelton recorded an 81% win percentage on his first serve and 59% on the second.

The fight was pretty close last time around! But Bublik could only manage to convert three of his ten breakpoints, on the other hand, Shelton converted two of his three breakpoints. Ben Shelton has a slight edge here. But does he have the edge in their next faceoff in Madrid?

Prediction: Shelton to win the contest by a close margin

Ben Shelton has been in superb form this year. He has a win-loss record of 15-7 season, while Alexander Bublik has a record of 14-8. Both of them are among the best servers of the men’s circuit, but Shelton has more control and firepower behind his serves. Bublik loves to play an aggressive brand of tennis but he always has a touch of creativity in his game. Alexander Bublik’s unpredictable game style often caught opponents off-guard. He will look forward to doing the same against Shelton on clay.

While Ben Shelton’s biggest weapon is his serve. But his powerful and accurate backhands and forehands can also come in handy against Bublik on this surface. Shelton loves to flaunt his athleticism by frequently coming up to the net to finish the points. So, for Bublik it’ll be key to put a check on that during the match. Last year, Ben Shelton made a R64 appearance in this tournament while Bublik’s best result in Madrid came in 2021 when he reached the QF. But if we look at the current form, the American number 2 looks slightly ahead in this contest against the number 18 in the world.