Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the Indian Wells Masters match.
This quarterfinal has all the makings of a grueling, hard-fought battle. Both Shelton and Draper are evenly matched in nearly every aspect—seeding (11th vs 13th), age, and physical attributes. The small margins between them suggest a match that could go down to the wire.
Ben Shelton
The American has the higher ranking and a better Grand Slam pedigree, having reached the Australian Open semifinal, where he lost to eventual champion Jannik Sinner. At Indian Wells, Shelton has been clinical, winning all his matches in straight sets. However, against Karen Khachanov (third round) and Brandon Nakashima (fourth round), he needed over 20 games to close out the matches, including one extended set beyond the standard 10 games.
Jack Draper
Draper’s previous match against Taylor Fritz followed a similar pattern—a tight first set, followed by a dominant stretch. He secured a crucial break in the 11th game and won six games in a row before Fritz mounted a brief comeback. In total, the match lasted 20 games and 1 hour 19 minutes, proving that Draper can go toe-to-toe with top-tier opponents.
Ben Shelton vs Jack Draper Prediction
Both players struggle to close out sets quickly against evenly matched opponents, meaning long sets are highly likely. A third set isn't mandatory, but expect a tight battle in the first two, pushing the total game count past the 22.5 mark. Given the razor-thin difference in their chances, we’ll stay away from picking a winner.
