Ben Shelton wins ‘ridiculous tennis’ battle, reaches Dallas QFs | ATP Tour

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Shelton wins ‘ridiculous tennis’ battle, reaches Dallas QFs

Defending champ Shapovalov cruises, Cilic wins

February 13, 2026

Ben Shelton fought off a stern take a look at from French lefty Adrian Mannarino on Thursday on the Nexo Dallas Open, the place the American is into his twenty fifth tour-level quarter-final.

Shelton, the No. 9 participant within the PIF ATP Rankings, overcame Mannarino 7-6(2), 6-7(4), 6-3 in a topsy-turvy battle stuffed with very good shotmaking. Mannarino, a finalist final week in Montpellier, expertly absorbed Shelton’s firepower, finest showcased throughout a 29-shot rally on the opening level of the first-set tie-break, however the second seed raised his stage within the essential moments to advance after two hours and 40 minutes.

Fired up 🔥@BenShelton digs deep to get previous Mannarino 7-6(2), 6-7(4), 6-3.@NexoDallasOpen | #DALOpen pic.twitter.com/12YqCVFnBJ

— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 13, 2026

“Ridiculous tennis,” Shelton stated in his on-court interview. “I assumed [Adrian] performed at a particularly excessive stage, I believe he at all times does in opposition to me. We have had some loopy matches, final match I bought injured in opposition to him on the US Open. A giant battle for certain. He does a number of issues that make it very, very tough. Particularly taking part in him on a low-bouncing indoor courtroom.”

All through the conflict, Shelton and Mannarino traded momentum shifts. Mannarino compelled a decider in dramatic trend, changing his sixth set level. The 37-year-old had let slip 4 set factors on return at 6-5, two of which the American erased with booming aces. Earlier that sport, Mannarino hit a shot-of-the-year-contender when he struck a no-look, between the legs winner.

Shelton within the decider pulled away by successful 52 per cent of his return factors, in accordance with Infosys ATP Stats, in comparison with 32 and 31 per cent within the first and second units, respectively. Together with his win, the 23-year-old improved to 2-3 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head sequence along with his fellow left-hander Mannarino. Up subsequent for Shelton is Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic, who upset fifth seed Tommy Paul within the final match of the day. 

Kecmanovic took a 4-2 sequence lead in opposition to Paul with a 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 victory. The Serbian will now face Shelton for the primary time with a semi-final spot on the road following a 0-4 begin to his season.

In earlier motion, defending champion and seventh seed Denis Shapovalov raced previous Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-4, 6-4 after 66 minutes, throughout which the Canadian didn’t face a break level. Shapovalov subsequent faces third seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

Marin Cilic, who earned his 600th profession tour-level win on Wednesday, downed Ethan Quinn 7-6(4), 6-3. Cilic is into his 123rd tour-level quarter-final, second most amongst lively gamers, solely behind Novak Djokovic (226).

Cilic’s subsequent opponent is British qualifier Jack Pinnington Jones, who escaped Eliot Spizzirri 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-6(4) after a two-hour, 52-minute thriller. Pinnington Jones turned professional final 12 months after three seasons at Texas Christian College and is now into his first tour-level quarter-final.