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Some tennis pros love the job beyond the pure joy of winning. It can be the freedom of a lifetime around the world. The pure adrenaline rush of competition. fame money What impresses Ben Shelton is that he struts his stuff in front of large, dynamic crowds.
“That’s the best thing about being in the position I’m in,” Shelton, the once-phenom, now 22-year-old star, told a small group of reporters on a visit to New York in early December. told “Being able to play in front of people who are excited about what I’m doing.”
The showman gene is easily overlooked when it comes to evaluating a talent, but is of great importance in enjoying the limelight and creating a dynamic rapport with the crowd. Great for the fans, great for the player. That makes Shelton a happy fighter. Think of it as more Alkaraz, less sinful.
For Shelton, showmanship isn’t a skill — it’s a gift. “I didn’t really think too much about it,” Shelton admitted. “I think that’s what I had. There’s a million other things I can work on and improve on, but being able to handle a crowd or play in front of a crowd is one of them. There is not one.
This love of the limelight bodes well for the future if Shelton, a 6-foot-4 southpaw, continues to excite the crowd with a fireball serve, explosive groundstrokes, and an intensely physical game — all while smiling and Communicating that he is spending his time. Life He did a lot in 2024, but it was also a season of fits and starts, a year of learning.
Shelton started the year at No. 17. He sank as low as No. 23 but a runner-up effort in Basel helped him finish the year at No. 21. He then suffered a painful defeat in Davis Cup singles. A third-set tiebreaker — to cut short Thanasi Kokinakis.
When asked in December what “lessons” Shelton took from the experience, he replied with a laugh: “Don’t count out the 24/22 tiebreaker (actually, it was 16-14) if you’re going for the United States.” Don’t lose the match on your chest.”
Such matches are new, easy to lose. In contrast, Shelton considers the US Open competition with compatriot Francis Tiafoe a more important, “learning” experience. Back in 2023, Shelton was pure fire, and won four straight sets against Tiafoe in the quarterfinals of his home major. But in a third-round rematch this year, Tiafoe found his A-game and avenged the loss. It was an exciting, high-quality battle and a high point in the USTA’s public campaign to create a more diverse, popular game.
This match illustrated the truth that, to be an elite player, you have to know how to win even when you’re not at your best — or when the other man is. Shelton knew it, of course, but knowing it and doing it are two different things. Afterward, Shelton realized that, like in other “learning experience” matches, he hadn’t adjusted well to Tiafoe’s best asset on the day, his lights-out return game. Instead of maneuvering around his opponent, Shelton simply tried to bring the heat and blast through him.
“A lot of guys on Tour are superhuman,” Shelton said. “I hit it 148 mph — but I miss my spot and they hit it back.” They hit it with a lot of quality, and it’s on my feet. So many times, (service) speed is not the answer.
Some other instructive losses for Shelton came at the hands of the crafty Adrian Mannarino (Australian Open, third round) and fellow power server Arthur Fils (Tokyo, quarterfinals). He also trailed 0-3 against world No. 1 Jenk Sener. No offense, but the straight-sets loss in the fourth round at Wimbledon was disappointing, given how devastating Shelton’s serve can be on grass.
Shelton is like many other young, aggressive players who embrace risk and sometimes crash and burn. More consistency is the challenge for such players. Shelton said he has thrived in this area because of his determination, even when he is struggling and unable to come up with real-time solutions.
“It’s just being competitive. I don’t let myself get carried away,” he said, adding that a great serve is both a curse and a blessing for a young, ambitious player. “You can get away with a lot (of service), but when Plan A isn’t working, it’s easy to keep banging your head against the wall. I had some of that last year (like Tiafoe). I had some rough patches. But as you get older you learn how to turn a bad day into a great win.”
Shelton has been paying more attention to his return game lately, citing the advice of those other formidable American servers, John Isner and Riley Opelka, who told Shelton that if you only hit your serve 5% to 7% of the time. breaking, then you qualify as a servobot. “I was under 10 percent in 2023, and I’m at 15 percent this year,” Shelton said. “I want to get that number higher.”
This is an understandable goal. Somehow, being a happy warrior and bot just doesn’t go hand in hand. – Tennis.com
