ATP Tournament in Washington, Round of 16, Thursday, 24.07.2025, 21:30
The hard court season is already in full swing, and at the 500 tournament in Washington, the tennis stars are getting in shape for the upcoming Masters tournaments in Toronto and Cincinnati, as well as the US Open.
In my Shelton Diallo tip, I am convinced that we will see at least one tiebreak. Bet-at-home has the right odds.
Ben Shelton didn’t have much trouble in the opening round. Mackenzie McDonald made a few mistakes, and Shelton took control of the sets early with some early breaks. His compatriot was clearly overwhelmed by his pace of play and in the end could only take 7 of 47 possible return points off Shelton.
It was the first match for the world number eight after Wimbledon, where the 22-year-old had performed well, reaching the quarter-finals. Only the eventual tournament winner and world number one Jannik Sinner was able to defeat him, after he had dropped just one set.
However, he had to go to tiebreaks more often and experienced longer sets than in his opening match in Washington. He had to go to extra sets five times in five matches. Across all tournaments, “Big Ben” has won twelve of his last twelve matches.
For the match against Gabriel Diallo, we are getting odds of 1.60 at Bet-at-home, an outstanding betting provider where we can also top up our credit with Paysafecard. He is slightly favored against the Canadian at 1.50, with Diallo at 2.60.
However, I would rather steer clear of a win bet. His opponent is climbing the world rankings week by week and is currently in 35th place, his personal best. In addition to a strong serve, he has tremendous forehand skills, similar to Shelton.
However, I consider the American to be a bit more consistent. He can also speed up the game even better. On the other hand, he still has problems returning against good servers. Therefore, I expect that it will go to a tiebreak at least once.
Diallo came through the first round with exactly the same result, facing Fabian Marozsan, the slightly better-known name. It was the sixth time in a row that he had overcome the opening hurdle in a tournament. However, in his breakthrough year, he has only made it to the second round of the Grand Slams so far.
Will he continue his run in Washington? In any case, he should stay in the sets longer. Shelton is strong on offense but has his weaknesses when he’s not on the offensive. Defusing Diallo’s serves will be a big hurdle.
He won 79 percent of the points on his first serve against Marozsan – and with 64 percent, it was also pretty reliable, resulting in no breaks conceded and only one meager chance allowed, which he ultimately fended off.
We already have a direct duel as a reference for the upcoming match. Although it was almost three years ago, it gives us a nice preview.
5-7, 7-6, 6-3 was the final score for Diallo, who is one year older and is close to reaching the $1,000,000 prize money mark. He has already earned $871,000 in his career, while Shelton’s career has taken off even more spectacularly, with him already standing at $5 million.
The fact is, in this first match with the young hard hitters, we already had two long sets and very good serve statistics. The conditions in Washington should not make for worse numbers. Temperatures of over 30 degrees and sunshine are expected at match time, which will make the game even faster!
My Shelton Diallo tip
Sit back and enjoy some serve practice? Maybe not quite, but long rallies are likely to remain the exception here. This is a matchup between two high-flying offensive players who fought a close battle in their first encounter.
I expect the same in Washington, where the felt ball has been flying really fast in the sunny conditions of over 30 degrees Celsius over the past few days, which suits both top servers. At the same time, neither is known as a return specialist.
Therefore, the choice is not difficult for me. I have combed through the best sports betting apps and settled on the following odds:
My Shelton Diallo tip: At least one tiebreak in the match
