Dallas
Shelton wins ‘funny tennis’ battle, reaches QFs in Dallas
Defending champion Shapovalov cruises, Cilic wins
February 13, 2026
Nexo Dallas Open
Second seed Ben Shelton is seeking his fourth tour-level title.
Written by Grant Thompson
Ben Shelton fought off a tough test from France’s Adrian Mannarino on Thursday at the Nexo Dallas Open, where the American reached the quarter-finals of the No. 25 ranking.
Shelton, the No. 9 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, defeated Mannarino 7-6(2), 6-7(4), 6-3 in a topsy-turvy battle filled with stunning shots. Mannarino, who reached last week’s final in Montpellier, masterfully held off Shelton’s firework, on display during a meeting that saw him fire 29 times in the first break, but the second seed raised his level at key moments to go ahead after two hours and 40 minutes.
It burned 🔥@BenShelton digs deep to get past Mannarino 7-6(2), 6-7(4), 6-3.@NexoDallas Open | #DALOVula pic.twitter.com/12YqCVFnBJ
– ATP Tour (@atptour) February 13, 2026
“It’s funny tennis,” Shelton said in his on-court interview. “I thought [Adrian] he played at an extremely high level, I think he always does against me. We have had some crazy matches, in the last match I was injured against him at the US Open. A great battle for sure. You do a lot of things that make it more difficult. Especially playing him in the infield with a little hitting.”
Throughout the conflict, Shelton and Mannarino traded shifts. Mannarino forced a dramatic decider, converting his sixth point. The 37-year-old gave up four points on his way back to 6-5, two of which were wiped out with booming aces. Earlier in the game, Mannarino scored the goal of the year-of-the-contender when he hit a superb, between-the-legs winner.
Shelton in the final won 52 percent of his return points, according to Infosys ATP Stats, compared to 32 and 31 percent 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 fellow left-hander Mannarino. Next up for Shelton is Tommy Paul or Miomir Kecmanovic from Serbia.
In earlier action, defending champion and seventh seed Denis Shapovalov cruised past Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-4, 6-4 after 66 minutes, with the Canadian not facing a break point. Shapovalov next faces third seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Marin Cilic, who won his 600th tour title on Wednesday, defeated Ethan Quinn 7-6(4), 6-3. Cilic entered the quarter-finals of his 123rd ranking, second among active players, behind Novak Djokovic (226).
Cilic’s next opponent is qualifier Jack Pinington Jones, who defeated Eliot Spizzirri 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-6(4) after two hours, 52 minutes of play. Pinington Jones became a player last year after three seasons at Texas Christian University and is now in the quarterfinals of his first division.
