Cameron Norrie will meet Ben Shelton in the Round of 16 of the Western and Southern Open. The match will be played on Thursday August 18th, 2022 at approximately 6:00pm EST.
Cameron Norrie is the ninth seed here at the Western and Southern Open and is ranked 11th in the world. The British number one has found the going tough so far in Cincinnati, with back to back three set wins over Holger Rune and Andy Murray to reach this stage. The lefty will next face surprise package Ben Shelton, and will have to be at his best here, since he won’t have much information on his opponent with which to prepare. Norrie has the big edge when it comes to experience, and it will be interesting to see how he deals with the explosive youngster with the crowd behind him.
Ben Shelton is a Wild Card entrant here at the Western and Southern Open and is ranked #229 in the world. The NCAA champion has really burst onto the scene over the past few weeks during the US Open series, and scored two major upsets here over Lorenzo Sonego and Casper Ruud to reach the Round of 16. He showed impressive versatility against Ruud, looking comfortable at the baseline and the net, mixing up his play well to frustrate his heavily favored opponent. He is the underdog yet again here against Cameron Norrie, but is playing freely and without pressure at the moment, making for a dangerous opponent.
This match looks like an easy win for Norrie on paper, but we know that isn’t the case here. Ben Shelton has looked far more impressive than the Brit so far in Cincinnati, and will be hunting for yet another upset with the home crowd behind him. It is unlikely that will happen however, as Cam Norrie rarely loses to players ranked below him, much less an inexperienced 19 year old. With that being said, I do think that it will be yet another three setter given Norrie’s struggles, but I am backing him to win a close one here. Consistency and experience should get the job done here against the exciting youngster.