Madrid
Prizmic defeats Shelton in a 3-hour Madrid thriller
A 20-year-old Prizmic expects Etcheverry or Orner for R3s; Musetti defeated Hurkacz
April 24, 2026
David Ramos / Getty Images
Dino Prizmic defeated Ben Shelton in three hours on Friday in Madrid.
Written by Jerome Coombe
Dino Prizmic continued to deliver on Friday at the Mutua Madrid Open, where he stunned World No. 6 Ben Shelton 6-4, 6-7(4), 7-6(5) for the biggest win of his career.
The 20-year-old Croatian combines endless energy and athleticism, hitting the finesse from the baseline while displaying a keen sense of defense. Shelton, riding a five-match winning streak after his win in Munich, struggled, but Prizmic rallied in style to reach the third round of an ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time.
QUALIFER ➡️ THIRD ROUND 👊
Dino Prizmic records his first ever Top 10 by defeating 4th seed Shelton in a thriller!@MutuaMadrid Open | #MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/EMhGwQGUXZ
– ATP Tour (@atptour) April 24, 2026
“It means a lot,” Prizmic said. “Today was a very difficult match for me and I tried to play my game, I focused on every point and it worked today. I work a lot with my team to be calm on important points, but he [Shelton] he is number 6 in the world… I was waiting for my chances, and I finally took them.”
Shelton solved 44 unforced errors by hitting 44 winners to spark comeback hopes. Yet Prizmic – the 2023 Roland Garros boys’ champion – refused to let his form drop, finding another gear in the final break to secure his first Top 10 finish in three hours.
Prizmic’s promise has been evident for some time, having knocked out Novak Djokovic at the 2024 Australian Open and qualified for the Next Gen ATP Finals last year. This week in Madrid, however, the Croatian is starting to fully deliver on that potential, earning victories over former champion Matteo Berrettini and American No. 1 Shelton.
Despite Shelton producing many high-energy exchanges – especially in the second set – Prizmic remained composed and assertive. The Croatian handled the pressure effectively while continuing to hit hard, and did not face a break point during the match, according to Infosys ATP Stats.
After breaking into the Top 100 for the first time last week, Prizmic has now climbed to No. 77 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings for his run in Madrid. He will next face Rio de Janeiro champion Tomas Martin Etcheverry or Sebastian Ofner in the fourth round.
Earlier, Lorenzo Musetti continued his return to form with a 6-4, 7-6(3) victory over Hubert Hurkacz, improving to 3-2 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series. The Italian retired while leading Djokovic in two sets to love in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open and is competing in just his fourth match since the injury.
After first-round defeats in Indian Wells and Monte-Carlo, Musetti reached the quarter-finals in Barcelona last week to fuel hopes of a resurgence. His second-round win over Hurkacz on Friday is a reminder of the level he is capable of in Madrid, where he reached the semi-finals last year amid a surprising clay court.
Musetti, who dropped to number 10 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, will next meet Tallon Griekspoor, who easily got past Damir Dzumhur 6-3, 6-4.
