Top seed Ben Shelton will go up against seventh-seeded Sebastián Báez in the quarterfinals of the 2026 ASB Classic. With the Australian Open set to begin in a few days, both players will look to get some winning momentum on their side by making a deep run at a warm-up event
Ben Shelton vs Sebastián Báez Match Details
Date: Jan. 15, 2026
Tournament: ASB Classic 2026
Round: Quarterfinals
Venue: ASB Tennis Centre, Auckland, New Zealand
Category: ATP 250
Surface: Hard
Live Telecast: Tennis Channel, TSN, Sky Sports
Shelton vs Báez Head-to-Head
The head-to-head between Shelton and Báez is 1-0 in favor of the American player. The only time they played was at the 2023 ASB Classic, with Shelton winning the match 7-6 (1), 6-1.
Shelton has started his 2026 season at the ASB Classic, where he received a bye in the first round as the top seed. He began his campaign with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Francisco Comesaña in the second round.
On the other hand, Báez was in action at the United Cup, where he won all his singles ties against the likes of Jaume Munar, Taylor Fritz, and Stan Wawrinka. He began his campaign at the ASB Classic with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 win against American qualifier Emilio Nava in the first round. He faced another American opponent in the second round, winning 7-5, 6-0 against Jenson Brooksby.
Shelton vs Báez Prediction
In his match against Comesaña, Shelton won 73% of the service points and 35% of the return points. The American hit 12 aces in the match, putting in 75% of his first serves. He was calm under pressure, as he saved all six break points, and converted two of the four break opportunities he got on his opponent’s serve.
Báez did not have a great serving day against Brooksby, as the Argentine won a sub-par 59 percent of the total service points. He was broken twice in the match, but his incredible returning helped him break his opponent six times, which ultimately contributed to his win of the second set in a one-sided manner.
While this is Báez’s best run in Auckland in three attempts, Shelton is a former semifinalist, having reached the last four in 2024. While Shelton has three hard-court finals and two titles on the surface, Báez’s only hard-court success came at the 2023 Winston-Salem Open, where he won the title with a win over Jiří Lehečka in the final.
Báez is a more effective clay-court player as he relies on lengthy rallies and does not have a point-ending big serve. On the other hand, Shelton’s serve is already one of the fastest and biggest on Tour, and that will make the American player a firm favorite to win the upcoming match.
Pick- Shelton to win in straight sets
