ATP Tournament in Washington, semi-final, Sunday, 27.07.2025, 02:30
The US Open is already casting its shadow! Tennis fans are therefore eagerly awaiting the action currently unfolding on American soil. Two blockbuster semi-finals await us in Washington on Saturday night.
And I can now focus on one of them in my Davidovich Fokina Shelton tip. As both players have performed strongly throughout the tournament, I have decided to go for the tiebreak bet.
The spectators in Washington have an understandable wish: they want to cheer on one of their US boys in the final. One has made it to the semi-finals, so Ben Shelton can now look forward to unconditional support.
The 22-year-old stormed into this semi-final without losing a set, impressively underlining his title ambitions. He started with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Mackenzie McDonald, followed by a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Gabriel Diallo.
The US duel against Frances Tiafoe had been eagerly awaited by the fans, and no, it was not a quick affair. Shelton won 7-6, 6-4, allowing his opponent to break only once.
He himself, on the other hand, only took two of his ten opportunities, but with 90% of points won on his first serve, there is certainly no reason for me to criticize him.
Even the 68% on his second serve is by no means negligible. Will his strong serve carry him through the tournament? Diallo didn’t get a single break point, nor did McDonald – Davidovich Fokina will have noticed that!
On average, 90% of his first serves land in the points he wins, so the 1.93m tall American is almost unbeatable when he serves. He didn’t perform that badly at Wimbledon either.
His run came to an end in the quarterfinals, however, where he was close to winning a set against Jannik Sinner, losing 6-7, 4-6, 4-6. Incidentally, he already impressed in Washington last year, reaching the last four.
Once there, Flavio Cobolli proved to be the end of the road. What about his head-to-head record against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina? The two have played each other twice so far, with the Spaniard winning both matches.
This year, playing on the clay of Monte Carlo, Shelton lost to his current opponent 7-6, 2-6, 1-6. Both matches went to three sets and included a tiebreak.
However, the American can generally be confident of his role as favorite, with the average odds in our best sports betting apps landing at 1.30 to 3.40.
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina is unlikely to be bothered by his underdog status, as he goes into the match with a 2-0 lead over Shelton. The Spaniard is in the Washington semifinals for the first time.
He started the tournament with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Jaume Munar, followed by a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Learner Tien. In the quarterfinals, he finally faced the number 1 seed, Taylor Fritz.
The spectators got their money’s worth, with Davidovich Fokina ultimately winning 7-6, 3-6, 7-5. Admittedly, it was a thrilling match, but I have to say that the break festival also showed that both players had weaknesses.
Fokina converted five of 15 opportunities, while Fritz converted six of 17. In addition, the Spanish player made eight double faults. After his Wimbledon exit, against Fritz, how could it be otherwise, he continued in Los Cabos.
However, the tournament was not successful, as he lost in the first round to James Duckworth. He seems to have found his feet on hard court, but Sunday will show how consistent he really is.
My Davidovich Fokina Shelton tip
Ben Shelton is the hope of the spectators. Will the ATP tournament in Washington have an American winner? It would be great for the 22-year-old, as his performances over the last few days have been really strong.
With just one break conceded in the entire competition, Diallo and Tiafoe knocked out, and impressive service stats, Shelton fully deserves his place in the last four.
Accordingly, I favor the American, but I also know that Davidovich Fokina has won the two (very close) matches between them so far. Therefore, I am going with the following tip:
We will see at least one tiebreak!
