"You can never count him out when he's down" - Ben Shelton wary of Alex De Minaur prior to their Canadian Open clash

With the 2025 Canadian Open winding to a close, the quarterfinals are set to feature tennis of the highest quality. Rising tennis star Ben Shelton will take on Australian ace Alex De Minaur for a spot in the semifinals, with the American admitting he won't be underestimating his opponent.

Both men battled through three-set encounters to reach the quarterfinals. Shelton overcame Italian Flavio Cobolli in his round of 16 match, whereas De Minaur defeated American Frances Tiafoe to make it to the final eight.

Shelton has experienced a meteoric rise to the top of the ATP circuit since his debut in 2022, reaching the semifinals of the US Open on his second appearance at that Grand Slam event. Subsequently, the Atlanta native has climbed up the ATP rankings, reaching a career-high ranking of World No.7 last month.

Conversely, De Minaur has vastly more experience on Tour after turning pro in 2015. The 26-year old has won 10 ATP singles titles, and reached a career-high of World No.6 in 2024.

Following his win over Cobolli, Shelton was asked about his upcoming match with De Minaur. The Aussie ace is coming off a strong start to his North American hard court season, having won the title in DC last week. This will be the first meeting between both players on the ATP Tour.

"Yeah, he's a dawg," admitted Shelton. "I'm ready for it. And for people who haven't heard that saying, that's a good thing (laughing). He's very fast. He's in a great rhythm, you saw what he did in DC. He's a great front runner, and you can never count him out when he's down.
"So I'm prepared for a war. I'm really excited. It's our first matchup. We've had some practice, some competitive practice sets. He puts it on the line in practice as well, that's one of the things that I love about him. Yeah, I'm really excited."