Ben Shelton made history on Wednesday at the BNP Paribas Open, where he became the youngest American quarter-finalist in Indian Wells since Andy Roddick, 21, in 2004.
The 22-year-old overcame countryman Brandon Nakashima 7-6(6), 6-1 to continue his impressive record against the American and advance to his third ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final.
“For me the second set was outstanding. Whenever you can get a two break win in a set against a server like him is really encouraging for where my level is at,” Shelton said. “I am pleased with my performance today. I think there are things I am trying to add into my game each week and I am trying to implement them this week.
“Sometimes things don’t work all the time. I make execution errors. I feel my intent has been really good this week and that has been a huge part of my success.”
In a tight first set, Shelton was two points away from losing it at 6/6 in the tie-break. However, Nakashima missed a backhand volley and then dumped a forehand into the net to give Shelton the lead. The 11th seed received a medical timeout at the end of the first set to tape a blister on his left hand before he raced through the second set to triumph after one hour and 34 minutes.
Shelton, who hit 26 winners and committed 18 unforced errors according to Infosys ATP Stats, has now won all nine sets he has played against Nakashima and leads the 32nd seed 4-0 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.
At a career-high No. 12 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, Shelton reached quarter-finals at Masters 1000 events in Shanghai (2023) and in Cincinnati (2024). He will aim to go one step further and advance to his first semi-final at this level when he takes on third seed and 2022 champion Taylor Fritz or 13th seed Jack Draper.
“I feel confident. It is a big goal for me to keep improving and keep going deeper in the big events,” Shelton said. “I had some success at Slams and Masters are a big goal for me this year because they are so many throughout the year and high stakes. I am pleased to be in another quarter-final but I am searching for more.”
Nakashima was chasing his 17th tour-level quarter-final and first at Masters 1000 level. The 23-year-old defeated Rinky Hijikata and Matteo Arnaldi in straight sets to reach the fourth round in California.
Francisco Cerundolo has often found his best tennis during the ‘Sunshine Double’. A semi-finalist and quarter-finalist in Miami in the past, the Argentine reached the last eight in Indian Wells for the first time when he upset ninth-seeded Australian Alex de Minaur 7-5, 6-3.
“I am super happy. I knew it was going to be a battle today,” said Cerundolo, who lost to De Minaur in four sets at the Australian Open. “Alex is an amazing player, a fighter. He is having some great years, a Top 10 player and we had a battle in Australia and it went his side but today I had another match, another opportunity and I think I did really well. I am super happy to beat a high-quality player and be in the quarter-finals in Indian Wells.”
Cerundolo saved one set point on serve at 5-5 in the first set and took advantage of an error-strewn performance from De Minaur to triumph after one hour and 50 minutes. The Australian, normally so consistent from the baseline, committed 39 unforced errors, with Cerundolo capitalising to advance to his fifth ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final.
The 26-year-old, who advanced to the title match in Buenos Aires last month, is up two spots to No. 24 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. Cerundolo will next play two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz or 14th seed Grigor Dimitrov.