Ben Shelton wins ‘ridiculous tennis battle’ to reach Dallas QFs | ATP tour | Tennis

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Shelton wins ‘ridiculous tennis battle’ and reaches Dallas QFs

Defending champion Shapovalov sails, Cilic wins
February 13, 2026

Ben Shelton was given a stern test by French left-hander Adrian Mannarino at the Nexo Dallas Open on Thursday, as the American enters his 25th tour-level quarter-final.

Shelton, the No. 9 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, defeated Mannarino 7-6(2), 6-7(4), 6-3 in a chaotic battle full of excellent shotmaking. Mannarino, a finalist in Montpellier last week, expertly absorbed Shelton’s firepower, which was best demonstrated during a 29-shot rally on the opening point of the first set tiebreak, but the second seed raised his level in the key moments to advance after two hours and 40 minutes.

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

— ATP tour (@atptour) February 13, 2026

“Ridiculous tennis,” Shelton said in his on-court interview. “I thought [Adrian] played at an extremely high level, I think he always does that against me. We’ve had some crazy matches, the last match I got injured against him at the US Open. Definitely a big battle. He does a lot of things that make it very, very difficult. Especially if you play it on a low bouncing indoor court.”

During the collision, Shelton and Mannarino exchanged momentum shifts. Mannarino forced a decider in dramatic fashion, converting his sixth set point. The 37-year-old had lost four set points in the return at 6-5, two of which the American erased with smashing aces. Earlier that match, Mannarino hit a contender for contender of the year when he hit a no-look between the legs winner.

Shelton in the decider pulled away by winning 52 percent of his return points, according to Infosys ATP Stats, compared to 32 and 31 percent in the first and second sets respectively. With his win, the 23-year-old improved to 2-3 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with fellow southpaw Mannarino. Next up for Shelton is fifth seed Tommy Paul or Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic.

In earlier action, defending champion and seventh seed Denis Shapovalov raced past Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-4, 6-4 after 66 minutes, with the Canadian not facing a break point. Shapovalov next faces third seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

Marin Cilic, who recorded his 600th tour-level victory on Wednesday, defeated Ethan Quinn 7-6(4), 6-3. Cilic is in his 123rd tour-level quarterfinal and ranks second among active players, behind only Novak Djokovic (226).

Cilic’s next 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 pro last year after three seasons at Texas Christian University and is now in his first tour-level quarterfinal.