Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz will be facing each other for the second time in the span of six days when they battle for a semifinal spot in Halle on Friday. Second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime continues his campaign against Frances Tiafoe.
(3) Ben Shelton vs. (5) Taylor Fritz
Shelton and Fritz will be squaring off for the fifth time in their careers and for the third time this season when they clash in the quarterfinals of the Terra Wortmann Open on Friday. The head-to-head series stands at 3-1 in favor of Shelton, who saved three championship points to beat Fritz 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 in the Dallas final and prevailed 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in last Sunday’s Stuttgart title match.
The pressure is on Shelton, who is the favorite based on his recent success in this matchup and needs a win to keep his hopes alive for the No. 4 seed at Wimbledon if Alex de Minaur defeats Brandon Nakashima in the Queen’s Club quarterfinals. The fifth-ranked American is 6-0 on grass this summer following Halle victories over Lorenzo Sonego and Ethan Quinn. Fritz booked his spot in the last eight with defeats of Zizou Bergs and Fabian Marozan. The ninth-ranked American is only getting better and better after missing most of the clay-court swing due to knee tendinitis. Don’t be surprised if Fritz gets some revenge.
Pick: Fritz in 3
Frances Tiafoe vs. (2) Felix Auger-Aliassime
Auger-Aliassime has been flirting with disaster this week. The world No. 4 needed three sets to get past Nuno Borges and then outlasted Learner Tien 6-7(5), 7-5, 7-6(5) on Wednesday. Thanks in part to a quarterfinal performance at Roland Garros, Auger-Aliassime has already locked up the third seed at Wimbledon.
Up next for the Canadian on Friday is a fourth meeting with Tiafoe, who has lost all three of their previous encounters. Auger-Aliassime won in four sets at the 2021 U.S. Open and then prevailed twice in straights a year later (on clay in Barcelona and on an indoor hard court in Paris). Tiafoe may be poised to get over the hump. The 26th-ranked American also played well at the French Open (fourth round), reached the quarters last week in Stuttgart, and has advanced in Halle with straight-set defeats of Flavio Cobolli and Sho Shimabukuro. With Tiafoe rolling and FAA far from convincing through two rounds, an upset could be in the cards.
Pick: Tiafoe in 3