Out-of-sorts Ben Shelton must rediscover motivation against competitive Cameron Norrie
Match News & Form
Ben Shelton has had a superb year. He has won four titles, one on each surface, reached his first Grand Slam final at the US Open, broken into the top four of the ATP rankings and sealed his ATP Finals place well in advance. He is also reportedly lining up a partnership with high-profile coach Juan Carlos Ferrero. With so much already achieved, Shelton appears to be lacking motivation, as his performances since the US Open have been very lacklustre. He has lost five of his seven matches since reaching that final, with the last two particularly disappointing defeats to underdogs Arthur Gea in Shanghai and Jerome Kym in Basel.
This brief poor run has not done Shelton any real harm, and it is understandable after such a successful and demanding season. Now, though, it is time for him to restart the engine and find some form and momentum in Paris if he wants to avoid another humbling campaign at the ATP Finals, where he lost all three of his group matches on debut last year.
Cameron Norrie has regularly suffered demoralising losses in close battles in recent weeks, so he must have breathed a sigh of relief after finally coming out on the winning side of a deciding set against Matteo Arnaldi in the first round in Paris. The win ended a run of four consecutive deciding-set defeats. The challenge now is to win back-to-back matches, something he has not done since the Montreal Masters in August.
Head-to-Head: Cameron Norrie leads 1-0
The pair met at the 2022 Cincinnati Masters, when Norrie was in his prime and Shelton was only taking his first steps on the main tour. Norrie dominated in a 6-0, 6-2 win.
Stats & Facts
Ben Shelton is defending quarterfinal points at the Paris Masters this week.
Shelton has won six of his seven matches at indoor events this year.
Cameron Norrie is defending last-16 points at the Paris Masters.
Norrie has not beaten a top-5 player since the Paris Masters last year, when he upset Carlos Alcaraz.
Betting Analysis
Cameron Norrie is on a poor run, having won just three of his last 10 matches, a level that should not be enough to beat a top-5 player on paper. However, Ben Shelton is currently all over the place, collecting losses even against underdogs. If Shelton fails to raise his level and find enough motivation, Norrie can take the fight to him and make life extremely difficult, just as he did against an in-form Daniil Medvedev in Vienna last week.
Although Norrie has struggled to win regularly of late, he has stayed competitive, including against top-ranked opponents such as Alexander Zverev on two occasions and Medvedev.