Ben Shelton fought off a stern test from French lefty Adrian Mannarino on Thursday at the Nexo Dallas Open, where the American is into his 25th tour-level quarter-final.
Shelton, the No. 9 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, overcame Mannarino 7-6(2), 6-7(4), 6-3 in a topsy-turvy battle filled with superb shotmaking. Mannarino, a finalist last week in Montpellier, expertly absorbed Shelton’s firepower, best showcased during a 29-shot rally on the opening point of the first-set tie-break, but the second seed raised his level in the important moments to advance after two hours and 40 minutes.
Fired up 🔥@BenShelton digs deep to get past Mannarino 7-6(2), 6-7(4), 6-3.@NexoDallasOpen | #DALOpen pic.twitter.com/12YqCVFnBJ
— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 13, 2026
"Ridiculous tennis," Shelton said in his on-court interview. "I thought [Adrian] played at an extremely high level, I think he always does against me. We've had some crazy matches, last match I got injured against him at the US Open. A big battle for sure. He does a lot of things that make it very, very difficult. Especially playing him on a low-bouncing indoor court."
Throughout the clash, Shelton and Mannarino traded momentum shifts. Mannarino forced a decider in dramatic fashion, converting his sixth set point. The 37-year-old had let slip four set points on return at 6-5, two of which the American erased with booming aces. Earlier that game, Mannarino hit a shot-of-the-year-contender when he struck a no-look, between the legs winner.
Shelton in the decider pulled away by winning 52 per cent of his return points, according to Infosys ATP Stats, compared to 32 and 31 per cent in the first and second sets, respectively. With his win, the 23-year-old improved to 2-3 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with his fellow left-hander Mannarino. Up next for Shelton is Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic, who upset fifth seed Tommy Paul in the last match of the day.
Kecmanovic took a 4-2 series lead against Paul with a 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 victory. The Serbian will now face Shelton for the first time with a semi-final spot on the line following a 0-4 start to his season.
In earlier action, defending champion and seventh seed Denis Shapovalov raced past Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-4, 6-4 after 66 minutes, during which the Canadian did not face a break point. Shapovalov next faces third seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Marin Cilic, who earned his 600th career tour-level win on Wednesday, downed Ethan Quinn 7-6(4), 6-3. Cilic is into his 123rd tour-level quarter-final, second most among active players, only behind Novak Djokovic (226).
Cilic's next opponent is British qualifier Jack Pinnington Jones, who escaped Eliot Spizzirri 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-6(4) after a two-hour, 52-minute thriller. Pinnington Jones turned pro last year after three seasons at Texas Christian University and is now into his first tour-level quarter-final.
