Ben Shelton reveals tactical change he made mid-match vs. Fabian Maroszan after being surprised by his serve in Cincinnati

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Ben Shelton bulldozered his way into the Cincinnati Open quarter-finals with a convincing win over Fabian Marozsan.

The American, who reached the semi-finals of last year’s US Open, appears to tapping into that form this time around.

Hungarian Marozsan is no stranger to success on the tour, having famously beaten Carlos Alcaraz in Rome last season.

But Shelton, at 21, made things look simple as he became the youngest American in the Cincinnati Open quarters since 2017 with a 6-4 6-3 triumph in just over an hour.

Ben Shelton explains how he altered his game plan to beat Fabian Marozsan

Even though he found it initially difficult to adjust to the conditions, Ben Shelton surged through unscathed while only facing two break points.

However, it wasn’t all plain sailing for the 21-year-old, who revealed how he had to switch things up mid-match.

“I definitely changed up my game plan a little way through the match,” Shelton told Tennis Channel.

“Because when I played him before I was really able to attack his serve, go after it first and second, and that’s how I was finding my breaks but he was popping the spots today.

“A fast court, he was serving pretty big and I had to change it up. I started chipping on the forehand return a bit and blocking the backhand, not really taking any big swings, and I dropped back pretty deep on the second serve just to give myself a bit of time.

“I think in these conditions it’s important to adapt throughout the match as guys are going to get hot and I think I did a good job of that. I got four breaks today, so I can’t complain.”

Shelton finding his feet in time for US Open

After a breakthrough season in 2023, Shelton has been able to maintain his spot inside the top-20, with no real shift up or down.

This comes at the back end of a 2024 campaign that has been somewhat disappointing by his lofty standards.

Shelton claimed his second ATP title in April but has since suffered early exits. However, the North American swing appears to have reignited something in the Atlantan.

The 21-year-old made a strong run to the semi-finals in Washington and is now on the cusp of achieving his best result at a Masters event here in Cincinnati.

But regardless of the result against number three seed Alexander Zverev on Saturday, Shelton is in prime position to repeat his statement run at the US Open later this month.