Monfils vs Shelton Prediction 20 January 2025

Gael Monfils' experience or Ben Shelton's youth? The main question, the answer to which determines our final prediction for the Australian Open round of 16 match. Previously, the tennis players have never faced each other, which adds a significant amount of intrigue to the upcoming battle.

Gael Monfils

Monfils is showcasing fantastic tennis in the new season, which sooner or later will lead to his return to the top thirty of the world rankings. At 38, Gael experiences some difficulties with motivation. However, for individual competitions, he still knows how to properly get in the zone. This past weekend, the Frenchman won a trophy in Auckland, losing only one set in five matches. Yesterday, the athlete sensationally broke Taylor Fritz's resistance, focusing mainly on an excellent serve (24 aces, 1 break, and less than a third of points lost on both serve attempts).

Ben Shelton

Shelton is not known for outstanding stability. But his global prospects look quite bright. Right at the start of his career, Ben reached the decisive stages of a major (top-4 US Open), thereby confirming his impressive potential. In Melbourne, the American spent 8 hours and 12 minutes getting out of an extremely tough part of the draw, losing a set to Lorenzo Musetti and Pablo Carreno Busta. In total, the athlete scored 125 actively won points for the tournament and made 134 unforced errors.

Editorial Prediction

In this match, in our humble opinion, there is no clear favorite. The opponents are not ready to boast an exceptional reception, and we expect that the fate of the meeting will at least partially be determined in extra games or tiebreaks. Total over - the best choice for the match.