Top seed Ben Shelton will face Francisco Comesaña in the second round of the 2026 ASB Classic. For Shelton, this will be the American’s first match of 2026, as he received a bye in the opening round for being the top seed.
On the other hand, Comesaña began his season at the Hong Kong Open, where he lost 4-6, 4-6 to Juncheng Shang in the first round. At the ASB Classic, the Argentine began his campaign with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Frenchman Valentin Royer in the first round.
Ben Shelton vs Francisco Comesaña Match Details
Date: Jan. 13, 2026
Tournament: ASB Classic 2026
Round: Second Round (Round of 16)
Venue: ASB Tennis Centre, Auckland, New Zealand
Category: ATP 250
Surface: Hard
Live Telecast: Tennis Channel, TSN, Sky Sports
Shelton vs Comesaña Head-to-Head
Shelton and Comesaña have yet to play each other on the Tour; therefore, their head-to-head record stands at 0-0.
Shelton vs Comesaña Prediction
Shelton had a 40-24 win-loss record in 2025, which included a 27-15 win-loss record on the hard courts. He achieved huge success on the surface, as the American won the Masters 1000 event in Toronto and had semifinal finishes at the Australian Open and the Citi DC Open in Washington.
Including Challenger tennis, Comesaña had a 30-28 win-loss record in 2025, having a 12-13 record on the hard courts. His best hard-court result was a Round of 16 finish at the Cincinnati Open, where he lost to Andrey Rublev.
This is the fourth time Shelton has played at Auckland, with the American’s best result being a semifinal finish in 2024, where he lost to Taro Daniel in a 7-5, 7-6 match. Meanwhile, Comesaña debuted at the event last year, entering the main draw as a lucky loser, but lost 2-6, 2-6 to Nishesh Basavareddy in the first round.
Shelton has already reached three hard-court finals in his career, winning two titles on the surface. Aside from the Canadian Open title last year, he also won the 2023 Japan Open, beating Aslan Karatsev in the final. He has already had two semifinal runs at hard-court slams, at the 2023 US Open and the 2025 Australian Open.
Comesaña has yet to make a mark on the Tour, as he has not yet reached a final. His only hard-court success came at the Challenger level, where he won a title in São Paolo back in 2024. All his success, including six ATP Challenger titles and a few semifinal finishes on the Tour, has come on the clay.
Shelton is the clear favorite in the upcoming match, as he is the better hard-court player and holds the higher ranking.
Pick- Shelton to win in straight sets
