Predictor Picks: Why a Shelton surge in Atlanta could boost your team

pWho will be able to add the most net PIF ATP Rankings points across Atlanta, Kitzbuhel and Umag?/p

pThe three ATP 250 events mdash; the a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/atlanta/6116/overview'Atlanta Open/a, the a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/kitzbuhel/319/overview'Generali Open/a and the a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/umag/439/overview'Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag/a mdash; provide plenty of opportunity for the ATP Tour stars in action this week./p

pBefore each tournament week, ATPTour.com looks at three players who might be good selections for fans in the PIF ATP Rankings Predictor./p

pstronga rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.atptour.com/en/rankings/predictor" target="_blank"Make Your Picks Now!/a/strong/p

pstronga href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/ben-shelton/s0s1/overview'Ben Shelton/a mdash; replacing 0 pointsbr /

/strongThe American with a booming lefty serve is the top seed in Atlanta and will be keen to leave his mark on the event in its last edition. Benrsquo;s father, a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/bryan-shelton/s380/overview'Bryan Shelton/a, was the longtime head coach of the Georgia Tech womenrsquo;s tennis team. Georgia Tech is the external practice facility for the a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/atlanta/6116/overview'Atlanta Open/a, making this a true home event for Shelton./p

pOne year ago, Shang Juncheng upset Shelton in Atlanta and the American will replace zero points this week. After a slow start to the grass-court season, the 21-year-old rebounded with a run to the fourth round at a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/wimbledon/540/overview'Wimbledon/a, where only a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/jannik-sinner/s0ag/overview'Jannik Sinner/a was able to stop him. He opens his Atlanta campaign against wild carda href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/andres/a132/overview' Andres/a Martin or a qualifier./p

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pstronga href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/andrey-rublev/re44/overview'Andrey Rublev/a mdash; replacing 45 pointsbr /

/strongAlthough Rublev has lost four consecutive matches, Umag can serve as a launching pad for a return to form. The 26-year-old has happy memories in Umag, where in 2017 he claimed his first ATP Tour title./p

pThe top seed will face a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/camilo-ugo-carabelli/u182/overview'Camilo Ugo Carabelli/a or wild card a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/luka-mikrut/m0n1/overview'Luka Mikrut/a in his opening match as he tries to regain momentum. The last time Rublev lost four consecutive matches earlier this year, he reversed his fortunes by claiming ATP Masters 1000 glory in Madrid./p

pstronga href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/alejandro-tabilo/te30/overview'Alejandro Tabilo/a mdash; replacing 25 pointsbr /

/strongThe Chilean, Tabilo, has been one of the breakthrough stars of the 2024 season. Now a Top 20 player, the 27-year-old is flying as high as ever./p

pTabilo did not compete last week, so he will be well-rested as he returns to clay. A winner of titles this year on hard and grass, the Chilean will try to complete a 2024 surface sweep with a trophy in Kitzbuuml;hel, where he is the second seed. Tabilo will play Gstaad champion a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/matteo-berrettini/bk40/overview'Matteo Berrettini/a in the second round if the Italian ousts a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/pavel-kotov/k09f/overview'Pavel Kotov/a, so the lefty will need to be sharp from the start of the tournament./p

pstrongBonus Ball mdash; a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/ben-shelton/s0s1/overview'Ben Shelton/abr /

/strongShelton makes sense as a Bonus Ball selection with the massive upside he presents. If you pick him and he triumphs, your team will net 500 points (double 250) for the pick./p

pAtlanta has long been a haven for big servers. a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/john-isner/i186/overview'John Isner/a won the championship six times, and other champions include a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/andy-roddick/r485/overview'Andy Roddick/a and a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/nick-kyrgios/ke17/overview'Nick Kyrgios/a. Will Shelton add his name to the list?/p

p[NEWSLETTER FORM]/p