At the 2023 Shanghai Masters, Ben Shelton has become the new fan favorite after kindly offering to share his umbrella with a ball lady during his doubles play in the pouring rain.
In the Round of 32 of the ATP Masters 1000 competition on Monday, Cam Norrie and Rinky Hijikata squared up against Shelton and Hubert Hurkacz. Starting off strong, the American and the Pole took the opening set 5-4, taking advantage of a vital break point.
But before they could try to serve out the set, rain stopped the game. Ball boys swiftly position themselves to shield players from the drizzle as per normal, but Shelton graciously relieved a ball girl from her duties when he saw her carrying an umbrella for him while also covering herself.
Instead, the semifinalist at the U.S. Open extended an invitation for her to take a seat next to him so they could both be protected.
Here is the video.
Shelton in Shanghai, ranking, and results in 2023
Currently ranked no.20, Shelton achieved a composed 22-23 win-loss record in 2023. Shelton is playing in Shanghai where he conquered the world no.82 Jaume Antoni Munar Clar 6-4 6-4 and the world no.50 Roman Safiullin 3-6 6-3 6-4.
Ben Shelton will take on the world no.4 Jannik Sinner in the 4th round on Tuesday at 6:30 pm on STADIUM COURT. They have never competed against each other till now in top events.
He is also scheduled to play in Vienna (Erste Bank Open) on the 23rd of October and Paris (Rolex Paris Masters) on the 30th of October.
Hurkacz in Shanghai, ranking, and results in 2023
Currently the world no.17, the Pole achieved a composed 35-20 match record in 2023. The Pole is participating in Shanghai where he conquered the world no.69 Thanasi Kokkinakis 7-65 6-4 and the world no.184 Yu Hsiou Hsu 6-4 6-4.
Hubert Hurkacz will face the world no.60 Zhizhen Zhang in the 4th round on Tuesday at 9:00 pm on STADIUM COURT. The head to head is 1-0 for Hurkacz.
Hubert clinched 1 title in 2023 in Marseille.
Hubert won 6 titles in his career: 3 on hard courts, 2 on indoor courts and 1 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)
He is also scheduled to play in Basel (Swiss Indoors Basel) on the 23rd of October and Paris (Rolex Paris Masters) on the 30th of October.
Ben Shelton and Hubert Hurkacz have never played each other.