Stan Wawrinka is in superb form on the court right now, with the three-time Grand Slam champion now shining on home soil.
Wawrinka just made his first ATP semi-final since July 2023, having last week overcome Stockholm Open top seed Andrey Rublev.
The Swiss star lost his last-four meeting with Tommy Paul, who went on to lift the trophy, but Wawrinka is already back to winning ways in Basel.
He beat Adrian Mannarino in their Swiss Indoors round of 32 tie in Basel, and now faces Ben Shelton in the last 16.
Shelton returned to the ATP Live Rankings top 20 after his round of 32 win over Tomas Martin Etcheverry, with the American seeded sixth in Basel.
Stan Wawrinka shares his honest thoughts about Ben Shelton
He is now set for an intriguing clash with home favourite Wawrinka, who has spoken highly of the Amerian in the build-up.
As quoted by the ATP website, Wawrinka said of his next opponent: “I expect a very tough match, he’s young, he plays very well.
“It’s going to be tough to implement my game, with the intensity that he brings, but I am going to try and battle like always.”
Will experience overcome youth in Stan Wawrinka vs Ben Shelton in Basel?
Wawrinka is making his 17th appearance at the Basel event, having just improved his record there to 16-15.
But young star Shelton represents a very different challenge to what the 39-year-old has gotten used to in recent times.
It will be their first competitive meeting ever, with neither player therefore able to predict exactly how the other will approach the match.
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But it should be an intriguing clash nonetheless, with the veteran hoping that he can use all of his experience to get the btter of the 22-year-old.
Wawrinka leads the way in terms of titles, with 16 to his name, with Shelton already on two from his relatively brief career so far.
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