Ben Shelton, the 20-year-old American tennis player, had a delightful interaction with chair official John Blom during his debut victory at the Shanghai Masters. The 19th seed secured a break against Jaume Munar thanks to a correct challenge in the second set, leading to a jovial exchange with the umpire. Shelton eventually won the match 6-4, 6-4.
Making his first appearance at the Shanghai Masters, Shelton received a second-round bye and faced world No. 82 Munar. In the first set, he secured a single break to take the lead, and he aimed to capitalize on his opponent’s serve in the second set.
At 3-3 in the second set, Munar hit a second serve that Shelton believed was long. He challenged the call, which he won, leading to a friendly conversation with the umpire. Shelton asked, “You thought it was in?” to which Blom replied, “I didn’t think it was in but I thought it was really close.”
Shelton, showing his understanding, continued, “You couldn’t see close enough to overturn it?” Blom agreed, saying, “Exactly.” Shelton also inquired about the scenario if Munar had called it out initially, to which Blom confirmed that he wouldn’t have overturned it.
Their light-hearted banter continued as Blom joked about Shelton’s decision not to challenge a previous shot and Shelton explained his relative inexperience with the challenge system since it was his first full year on the tennis tour in 2023. He humorously commented, “I have the worst eyes on tour,” to which Blom playfully disagreed, saying, “There’s some pretty bad ones, don’t worry.”
Shelton proceeded to win the match in straight sets and advanced to the third round, where he is set to face either Alexander Zverev or Roman Safiullin. His recent success, including a run to the US Open semi-finals, has earned him fans worldwide, and in Shanghai, he further endeared himself to the crowd by signing autographs and taking photos after the match.
Shelton in Shanghai, ranking, and results in 2023
Now ranked no.20, the American has managed to achieve a compiled 21-23 record in 2023. Shelton is currently playing in Shanghai where he overcame the world no.82 Jaume Antoni Munar Clar 6-4 6-4.
Ben Shelton will take on the world no.50 Roman Safiullin in the 3rd round. Their head to head is 1-0 for Safiullin.
Shelton will play next in Tokyo (Rakuten Japan Open). He will start the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 16th of October.
Ben Shelton |
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