Who will enter the final in Washington DC?
No. 4 seed Ben Shelton will test his skills against the giant killer of Americans in the form of Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Saturday. This 2025 Mubadala Citi DC Open semifinal will determine who progresses to face either Alex de Minaur or Corentin Moutet in the summit clash. Keep reading to find out all you need to know about this rivalry, as well as our predictions and the BetMGM betting odds.
Ben Shelton has looked like a force to be reckoned with at the American capital this week. The 22-year-old has been serving brilliantly, which resulted in convincing straight sets wins over McDonald, Diallo and Tiafoe. Currently ranked No. 8 in the world, the southpaw is enjoying his career-best phase so far. With an 85% success rate on hard court service games, Shelton has gone 10-6 on this surface so far. His best performances of 2025 include reaching the final in Munich, and the semis at the Australian Open and Stuttgart.
Ben don’t break 💪@BenShelton makes it back-to-back semi-finals at #MubadalaCitiDCOpen pic.twitter.com/eyjd23V3U9
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) July 26, 2025
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina began his Washington campaign by defeating compatriot Munar, and backed it up by conquering two home favourites in Tien and Fritz. The No. 12 seed has a 31-17 record this year, including two runners-up finishes at Delray Beach and Acapulco. While ADF also managed to reach the final four stage in Monte Carlo and Eastbourne, his 2025 hard court performance stands at an average 14-8 so far. The Spaniard converts 42% break points on this surface.
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina's reaction after coming back from 2-5 in the 3rd set to beat Taylor Fritz in Washington
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) July 26, 2025
2 a.m.
He lays flat on the ground after the net exchange
Safe to say it's bed time 😂pic.twitter.com/puHtm5ZllK
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina leads the head-to-head against Ben Shelton by 2-0. The 26-year-old has gotten the better of his American opponent at two Masters-1000 level clashes so far.
The first Shelton-Fokina contest was at the 2023 Paris Masters, wherein the World No. 26 won a thrilling three set encounter. The return fixture happened to be at the 2025 Monte Carlo Masters. After dropping a very tight first set, Davidovich Fokina outlasted Shelton in terms of accuracy and endurance on the testing clay courts.
| Event | Round | Winner | Score |
| 2025 Monte Carlo | Round of 64 | Davidovich Fokina | 6-7(2) 6-2 6-1 |
| 2023 Paris Masters | Round of 64 | Davidovich Fokina | 7-6(4) 5-7 6-3 |
| Ben Shelton | Category | Alejandro Davidovich Fokina |
| 0 | Grand Slams | 0 |
| 2 | ATP Singles Titles | 0 |
| 0 | ATP Doubles Titles | 1 |
| 0 | Masters-1000 Titles | 0 |
| – | Olympics Best Performance | R3 (Tokyo 2020) |
| No. 8 | Current World Ranking | No. 26 |
While he was on the brink of elimination against Fritz, Davidovich Fokina managed to physically outlast the American. The conditions will be challenging for both players, and a lot will depend on who can make early inroads before fatigue kicks in. As the length of the rallies extends, the Spanish sensation will favour his chances against Shelton. However, we believe the powerful southpaw will edge out this contest.
Prediction: Ben Shelton in three sets.
Shelton is the firm favourite against Davidovich Fokina ahead of this Washington Open semifinal. According to the pre-match implied probability on the money line, the American has a 66% likelihood to advance. Here are all the important odds to know about (as per BetMGM):
(According to BetMGM: BetMGM offers exclusive promo codes, bonus deals and accurate odds for users upon signing up. Use BetMGM to ace your betting game in all sports!)
(Image Credits: Geoff Burke, Imagn Images)
A passionate sports fan through and through, I am currently pursuing my MA in Global Sports Journalism. I specialise in tennis and football writing at The Playoffs News, and I have prior experience working at EssentiallySports and Sportskeeda. Born and raised in Bengaluru, India, sport was my safe space right from my childhood. After trying my hand at multiple sports and representing my educational institutions in cricket, badminton and table tennis, I found sports media to be my calling.
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