Ben Shelton backed to extend perfect 2026 semi-final record against Luca Van Assche
Match News & Form
Luca Van Assche won the battle between two surprise quarterfinalists, overcoming Rinky Hijikata in two hours and 45 minutes after recovering from a break down in the deciding set to reach his first Masters semi-final. The result further decorates an already successful second half of the year, which has brought his maiden ATP title in Estoril, a top-50 debut and, most recently, a quarterfinal at the French indoor event in Lyon. Thanks to this continued good form on a big Masters stage, he is now sitting at a career-high No. 34 in the live rankings.
Ben Shelton had a poor run in recent weeks, losing five of seven matches, and badly needed to rediscover his form and momentum before the ATP Finals, where he lost all three of his matches on his 2025 debut. He has largely achieved that objective in Paris, beating Cameron Norrie and Arthur Rinderknech before ending the Turin hopes of compatriot Tommy Paul to reach the semi-finals. In the process, he has recorded his best result at the tournament, going one step further than his quarterfinal run last year.
This has been Shelton’s most unreliable season on the main tour, as he has never looked this shaky and inconsistent before. At the same time, it has been the most successful season of his career, especially in terms of titles. He had just three ATP titles before this year but has already won four in 2026, along with reaching the US Open final and breaking into the top four of the rankings. He is now one win away from a shot at a fifth title of the season, and he can take confidence from having converted both of his previous Masters semi-finals into titles, in Toronto in 2025 and Montreal in 2026.
Head-to-Head: 0-0
The pair have never met before.
Stats & Facts
Luca Van Assche is the second-youngest Frenchman to reach the semi-finals at the Paris Masters, behind only Richard Gasquet, who did so aged 21 in 2007 before losing to David Nalbandian in straight sets.
Van Assche’s only previous tour-level semi-final came in Estoril this year, which he converted into his maiden ATP title.
Ben Shelton holds a 10-7 record in tour-level semi-finals and is currently on a five-match winning streak at this stage.
Shelton has reached four semi-finals at ATP events this year and converted every one of them into a title.
Betting Analysis
Luca Van Assche has played some confident tennis in the second half of this season, as reflected in his career-best results and solid rise up the rankings. However, his run looks likely to end here. Ben Shelton has been extremely efficient at converting these later stages into wins throughout the year, while Van Assche’s 0-5 career record against top-10 opponents means he cannot be trusted to solve the problem against a confident player like the American.