Ben Shelton vs. Francisco Comesana Prediction, Odds and Best Bets (ASB Classic 2026, January 14)

World No. 8 takes on World No. 68 on Australian soil.

Top seed Ben Shelton kicks off the 2026 season with a challenging Round of 16 encounter against Francisco Comesana of Argentina on Wednesday. This marquee clash at the ASB Classic 2026 will determine who advances to face either Jenson Brooksby or Sebastian Baez in the quarterfinal stage. A semifinalist at last year’s Australian Open, can the 23-year-old continue to impress in the land down under?

After winning an ATP-250 and ATP-500 on tour, Ben Shelton completed the full set by winning his maiden Masters-1000 title at the Canadian Open in 2025. The World No. 8 is currently the top player from his country, and justified it with an incredible 40-24 record in the season gone by. Shelton also reached the final in Munich en route to his maiden Nitto ATP Finals qualification. The southpaw received a bye in Round-1 here in Auckland.

got Trinity Rodman + Ben Shelton in the house 🪄 pic.twitter.com/ycX3sISSiO
— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) January 4, 2026

Francisco Comesana opened his account with an opening round defeat vs Juncheng Shang at the Hong Kong Open. The Argentine was on the verge of breaking into the Top-50 in August 2025, and sits at No. 68 in the world at the moment. Comesana is still searching for his first career championship run. Despite beating some of the best players in the world like Andrey Rublev and Alexander Zverev, the 25-year-old has not made a tour-level final.

According to the tennis betting odds, Ben Shelton is the favorite (-335) and Francisco Comesana is the underdog (+255) in this Round of 16 fixture at the ASB Classic 2026, according to BetMGM. Here’s how we are betting on the Ben Shelton vs Francisco Comesana encounter in New Zealand, including our best bets, supporting odds and a set-score prop for bigger prices.

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Tournament & Round: ASB Classic 2026, Round of 16
Surface: Outdoor Hard Court
Format: Men’s Singles, Best of Three Sets
Date & Start Time: January 14, 11:30 AM Local
Court: Centre Court, ASB Tennis Centre
Best Bet: Ben Shelton -1.5 Sets @ -112 as per BetMGM

Ben Shelton vs Francisco Comesana Betting Odds

Given below are the latest odds for Ben Shelton vs Francisco Comesana from the top sportsbooks. We are looking at the match money line, game handicap and total games, plus some set betting markets where available.

Market	BetMGM	FanDuel
Moneyline	Shelton (-335), Comesana (+255)	Shelton (-410), Comesana (+290)
Game Handicap	Shelton -3.5 (-113), Comesana +3.5 (-115)
Total Games	>22.5 (-121), <22.5 (-108)
Set Betting	Shelton 2-0 (-114)

Ben Shelton vs Francisco Comesana Predictions & Picks

Our Pick: Ben Shelton -1.5 Sets @ -112

In 2025, Ben Shelton started the year outside the Top-20 and ended up within the Top-5 during the fag end of the season. The American powerhouse has a serve-heavy style of play and a strong mentality, which has contributed to his meteoric rise. Unfortunately, he has failed to back it up with a strong game while returning serve. Although Shelton ranks within the five best ATP servers in terms of service points won, he falls to the 47th position on the return of serve.

On the other hand, Francisco Comesana is still a project under construction when it comes to hard courts. The Argentine won around 50% of the total points played last year, and has a success rate of 42.5% over the course of his career. Owing to his height of 5’10”, Comesana will find it difficult to make inroads on the express Shelton serve. We are predicting a straight sets victory for the American No. 1 seed, making the -1.5 sets at -112 one of the least risky bets.

Ben Shelton Recent Form

Ben Shelton secures his first Masters 1000 title! 🔒🏆 pic.twitter.com/1IVDIGjfUb
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 8, 2025

Nitto ATP Finals 2025: Round Robin
Paris Masters 2025: Quarterfinal
Swiss Indoors 2025: Round of 16
Shanghai Masters 2025: Round of 64
US Open 2025: Round of 32

Francisco Comesana Recent Form

Hong Kong Tennis Open 2026: Round of 32
Paris Masters 2025: Round of 64
Swiss Indoors 2025: Qualifying
European Open Brussels 2025: Round of 16
Shanghai Masters 2025: Round of 64

Ben Shelton vs Francisco Comesana Head to Head Record

The head-to-head record between Ben Shelton and Francisco Comesana is currently 0-0. The pre-quarterfinal in Auckland is set to be their first career meeting.

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How to Watch Ben Shelton vs Francisco Comesana at the ASB Classic 2026?

The ASB Classic 2026 can be streamed live on various platforms and channels, depending on which part of the world you are watching from. This includes Tennis Channel, Sky Sports, beIN Sports, DAZN, ESPN International, Canal+, SportKlub, Setanta Sports and SuperSport.

Date	January 14, 2026
Time	11:30 AM Local
Tournament	ASB Classic Auckland, Round of 16
Surface	Outdoor Hard Court
Court	Centre Court, ASB Tennis Centre
TV/Streaming	Tennis Channel, Sky Sports, beIN Sports, DAZN, ESPN International, Canal+, SportKlub, Setanta Sports and SuperSport.

(Image Credits: Mike Frey, Imagn Images)

Sankalp Harikrishnan

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.