Frances Tiafoe Looks Forward to A “No Friends” Clash Against Ben Shelton in the Quarter-Finals of the Citi Open

Ben Shelton leads Frances Tiafoe 2-1 in their head-to-head record ahead of their fourth encounter on tour.

Frances Tiafoe Looks Forward to A “No Friends” Clash Against Ben Shelton in the Quarter-Finals of the Citi Open

Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton (via X/Tennis Channel/The Tennis Letter)

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Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton are flying high once again in the North American hard-court season. Both players are into the quarter-finals of the Washington Open after beating their opponents in straight sets. They will now face each other for a place in the semi-finals, and Tiafoe believes they will try to cut each other’s heads off.

Tiafoe, who began the season poorly has begun to find his momentum on the court this season. The first time he reached the last eight of a tournament this year was at Houston in April. He then reached that stage for the second time at the Roland Garros. At Washington, he faced last year’s finalist, Flavio Cobolli, in the round of 16.

Cobolli was in the form of his career, having just reached the quarter-finals of the Wimbledon Championships and won the Hamburg Open in June. But the Maryland-native star was brilliant from start to finish. He produced an impressive performance to beat the Italian star 6-1, 6-4 and secure his place in the quarter-finals.

On the other hand, Shelton faced big-serving Gabriel Diallo in the round of 16 and defeated the Canadian star 6-3, 6-2. The American star is yet to face a break point at the Citi Open and hasn’t dropped a set. He’s now aiming to reach a career-high ranking by just beating Tiafoe in Washington.

Both players have met each other three times, with Shelton leading 2-1 in their head-to-head record. However, Tiafoe won their last encounter in the third round of the 2024 US Open. Ahead of their meeting at the Citi Open, Tiafoe revealed that there will be no friendship on the court as they will both fight for the win:

I’m excited. We’re great friends. We played an incredible match at the Open last year, I think that’s the best we actually both played. He got me the first couple of times. He’s a great player, a great friend of mine. Laver Cups, Davis Cups. We talk to each other outside of the game, we hang out outside of the game. I love that dude, but tomorrow obviously there’s no friends. We’re going to try to cut each other’s heads off, and the crowd’s going to love it. I’m going to love the competition, and I hope to get over the line.

Tiafoe arrived in Washington after a second-round run at the Wimbledon Championships before losing to British star Cameron Norrie. Meanwhile, Shelton earned his best run at the grass-court Grand Slam, reaching the quarter-finals before losing to eventual champion Jannik Sinner.

Frances Tiafoe joins an elite group after reaching the quarter-finals of the Citi Open

Frances Tiafoe became the third man in this century to reach the Citi Open for the fourth consecutive time. He joins an elite group of Andre Agassi and Alexander Zverev. However, Tiafoe’s win over Flavio Cobolli was one of the most important of the season as it was his first top 10 victory in 2025.

Frances Tiafoe Washington Open 2025
Frances Tiafoe (image via Instagram @bigfoe1998)

After the match, he was asked on court what made him play at his very best. The 27-year-old revealed that it was a fast hard court, which helped him easily dictate and dominate the match against Cobolli:

I got in a really good rhythm there at the end of the second [set]. These courts are really fast, and it helps… I kind of like that, short rallies and big serves.

Tiafoe is currently ranked World No.11, if he does win the title, he stands a chance of overtaking Andrey Rublev and becoming the World No.10 by next week. Rublev, who finished the tournament in the quarter-finals, is expected to drop points after losing the opening match of the Washington Open against Learner Tien.

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