Otto Virtanen vs Ben Shelton Preview & Prediction | 2026 Wimbledon Championships | First Round
by Alex Meechan ·
Updated
Ben Shelton begins his Wimbledon campaign against Otto Virtanen.
Start date/time:
Venue: All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, England
Surface: Outdoor grass
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Otto Virtanen vs Ben Shelton prediction
Otto Virtnanen has found form during this grass court season. He advanced to two finals on the Challenger Tour in Birmingham and Nottingham, before winning all three of his matches in qualifying to enter the main draw at Wimbledon. He did reach the second-round here in 2024.
He faces Ben Shelton in round one. The American picked up his third title of the season and his first on grass earlier this month after winning the Stuttgart Open. Shelton saved three match points en route, one against Marcos Giron in the second-round and two against Jiri Lehecka in the last eight of the tournament. He beat defending champion Taylor Fritz in the final, but Fritz would exact revenge a week later at the Halle Open in the quarters. Shelton, who is seeded fourth at the event, achieved his best result at Wimbledon last year after a quarter-final appearance.
Virtanen’s serve is a weapon on grass, and he will take a lot of confidence from how he has performed over the past month. Shelton is prone to dropping the occasional set, and this is far from a straight-forward opening round match.
Otto Virtanen vs Ben Shelton tip: Over 39.5 games
