Stat of the Day: Ben Shelton has now won four of his last five matches against Top 15 players

Ben Shelton broke into the Top 20 on the ATP rankings after reaching his first Grand Slam semifinal at the US Open, and he’s been bouncing back and forth between No. 19 and No. 20 since then.

But that’s about to change.

The American, who’s ranked No. 19 this week, took out No. 12-ranked Tommy Paul in an all-American quarterfinal clash in Tokyo on Friday, 7-6 (4), 6-3, and by reaching the semifinals of the ATP 500 event he’s now guaranteed to move up to at least No. 17.

He could even crack the Top 15 with the title.

Whether he reaches the Top 15 after Tokyo or not, he certainly seems headed there in a hurry based on his recent results against that ranking class—with his victory over Paul on Friday, Shelton has now won four of his last five matches against Top 15 players.

BEN SHELTON CAREER VS. TOP 15 PLAYERS:
~ d. No. 5 Ruud in 2022 Cincinnati 2nd Rd, 6-3, 6-3
~ l. to No.11 Norrie in 2022 Cincinnati 3rd Rd, 6-0, 6-2
~ l. to No. 10 Rune in 2023 Acapulco 1st Rd, 6-7 (7), 6-4, 6-2
~ l. to No. 5 Fritz in 2023 Indian Wells 2nd Rd, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
~ l. to No. 3 Ruud in 2023 Barcelona 2nd Rd, 6-2, 7-6 (1)
~ l. to No. 1 Alcaraz in 2023 Canada 2nd Rd, 6-3, 7-6 (3)
~ l. to No. 4 Tsitsipas in 2023 Cincinnati 2nd Rd, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2)
~ d. No. 14 Paul in 2023 US Open 4th Rd, 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
~ d. No. 10 Tiafoe in 2023 US Open QFs, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (7), 6-2
~ l. to No. 2 Djokovic in 2023 US Open SFs, 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (4)
~ d. No. 4 Sinner in 2023 Shanghai 3rd Rd, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5)
~ d. No. 12 Paul in 2023 Tokyo QFs, 7-6 (4), 6-3

After the two traded breaks late in the first set, Shelton snuck out the set in a tie-break, then the two stayed on serve through the first seven games of the second set—but that’s when Shelton pounced one more time, breaking for 5-3 and then swiftly serving it out.

There were two major differences on the stats sheet: aces to double faults, with Shelton going +9 on those (14-5) and Paul +1 (2-1); and break points converted, Shelton going 2/2 and Paul 1/7.

At the end of the day it was Shelton who advanced, and he’s now through to the second tour-level semifinal of his career, his first coming at the US Open last month, where he fell to Novak Djokovic.

Standing between Shelton and his first ATP final will be another American, Marcos Giron, who took out No. 17-ranked Felix Auger-Aliassime in the second quarterfinal match of the day, 6-1, 6-4.

Giron defeated Shelton in straight sets in the pair's only previous meeting in the first round of Delray Beach earlier this year, 6-4, 6-4.