Match Details
Fixture: (5) Ben Shelton vs (31) Zizou Bergs
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Date: August 7, 2026
Tournament: Canadian Open
Round: Third Round (Round of 32)
Venue: IGA Stadium, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Category: ATP Masters 1000
Surface: Hard
Prize Money: $9,415,724
Live Telecast: USA – Tennis Channel | UK – Sky Sports | Canada – Sportsnet, TVA
Ben Shelton vs Zizou Bergs preview
Fifth seed Ben Shelton will face off against 31st seed Zizou Bergs in the third round of the 2026 Canadian Open on Friday.
Shelton reached the third round with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Jenson Brooksby, backing up a quarterfinal run in Washington last week. As the defending champion of this event, he’s playing in his favorite stretch of the season, one that builds toward the US Open. He’s also carried real momentum from last year’s title run here, having beaten Karen Khachanov in three sets to lift his first-ever Masters 1000 trophy.
Meanwhile, Bergs reached the third round with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over Sebastian Baez, improving to 17-16 on the season. It’s a nice bounce-back after a tough loss to Fritz in Washington last week, and it continues an encouraging recent stretch that’s seen him climb into the top 35.
Ben Shelton vs Zizou Bergs head-to-head
Shelton leads their head-to-head 1-0, winning their only previous meeting at Houston in 2024. That match was on clay, so this will be their first-ever meeting on hard courts.
Ben Shelton vs Zizou Bergs odds
(Odds via BetMGM)
Ben Shelton vs Zizou Bergs prediction
Shelton’s serve numbers give him a real edge here, having been more reliable on his second serve and better at saving break points than Bergs over the past six months. That kind of steadiness under pressure often decides tight matches, and he’s playing in his best stretch of the season.
Bergs, though, has actually out-returned Shelton lately, winning more points off both first and second serves in recent form. If he can convert that return edge into real break chances, he has a path to disrupt Shelton’s rhythm, especially given this will be new territory for both of them on hard courts.
Their only previous meeting favors Shelton, though it came on clay and offers limited insight into how this specific surface changes things. Between his superior serve numbers and the psychological lift of playing in his favorite part of the season, Shelton looks like the safer bet.
Pick: Shelton to win in straight sets.
Ben Shelton vs Zizou Bergs betting tips
Tip 1: The match will have at least 22 games.
Tip 2: Shelton to win at least one set with a score of 7-5 or better.
Edited by Pritha Ghosh