Ben Shelton and Pablo Carreno Busta face off in the second round of the US Open on Wednesday, August 27. The match is tentatively scheduled to start at 8:10 p.m. ET on Louis Armstrong Stadium and will be broadcast on ESPN.
This will be an exciting rematch as these two players already met this year at another hard-court Grand Slam: the Australian Open, where Shelton edged Carreno Busta in four sets.
Find my US Open Second Round preview and Shelton vs Carreno Busta prediction for Wednesday below.
Shelton vs Carreno Busta Prediction
- Shelton vs Carreno Busta Pick: Shelton -6.5 (-135)
My Shelton vs Carreno Busta best bet is on Shelton to cover the spread. Make sure to find the best odds by checking our live US Open odds page.
Shelton vs Carreno Busta Odds
| Ben Shelton Odds | -1100 |
| Pablo Carreno Busta Odds | +600 |
| Spread | Shelton -6.5 (-135), Carreno Busta +6.5 (-110) |
| Over/Under | 33.5 (-118o / -120u) |
| Shelton-Carreno Busta H2H | 1-0 |
| Time | How to Watch | Wednesday, 8:10 p.m. ET | ESPN |
| Odds via BetMGM | |
Ben Shelton vs Pablo Carreno Busta Preview, Prediction
Ben Shelton Betting Preview
Shelton's stock is on the rise, and soon it will be time to mark him as a Grand Slam champion candidate.
The left-hander is enjoying the best year of his career in major tournaments: he reached the semifinals in Melbourne, the fourth round in Paris, and the quarterfinals in London.
Shelton's hard-court season was outstanding, producing a title and many great performances. He won the Canada Masters 1000, his third career title, beating Alex de Minaur, Taylor Fritz and Karen Khachanov along the way.
The American also played the semifinals at the ATP 500 in Washington and the quarterfinals at the Cincinnati Masters 1000.
In New York, Shelton started in full force, defeating Ignacio Buse in straight sets: 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.
His powerful serve is made for hard courts. Against Buse, Shelton hit five aces and won 78% of first-serve points.
Pablo Carreno Busta Betting Preview
At 34 years old, Carreno Busta is losing ground on the tour, which is likely the reason he has been playing more Challenger tournaments this year.
In March, he had to play the qualifying stage to gain entry into Indian Wells and suffered a first-round exit.
The Spaniard lost his second match at the Canada Masters 1000, and in Cincinnati, he had to play qualifying again and lost the first contest.
His last hard-court season tournament this month was an ATP 250 in Winston-Salem, where he only made it to the second round.
Such an inconsistency is bound to make him pay the price against Shelton.
Even in his victory at the US Open on Sunday, Carreno Busta had his issues. He defeated countryman Pablo Llamas Ruiz 7-6(7), 6-4, 6-2, but had a whopping 42 unforced errors across those three sets.
Shelton vs Carreno Busta Prediction, Betting Analysis
Their head-to-head consists of only one game: this year's matchup at the Australian Open second round, where Shelton beat Carreno Busta in four sets: 6-3, 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-4.
The American is much better on hard courts; that's where he wins the most, both in his career (64.2%, 77-43 record) and this year (73.3%, 22-8 record).
Shelton has won 87% of his service games this year. That kind of pressure will drive Carreno Busta to take risks trying to find break opportunities that will be hard to come by.
Given the Spaniard's form and his many unforced errors on Sunday, he won't be getting breaks often tonight.
Back Shelton to show his full potential in this match.
Pick: Shelton -6.5 (-135, BetMGM)
