On his first overseas trip, American Ben Shelton arrived at the men’s ASB Classic earlier this year as an unheralded wildcard. Though he was far from a center-court draw, he was regarded as a player on the rise, having reached 98 in the world as a teenager.
Shelton, who shot up to the 17th spot in the world after an incredible year, will make a big comeback in 2024.
His journey began at the Australian Open in Melbourne, where he advanced to the quarterfinals as the youngest American to do so in forty years. The strong left-hander defeated Tommy Paul, ranked No. 12 in the world, to win his first ATP title at the Tokyo Open.
In the US Open, Shelton’s most memorable run came when he defeated fellow countryman Francis Tiafoe to make it to the final four, only to be defeated by Novak Djokovic in the semifinals.
Shelton expressed his thoughts about his tour in Auckland and said: “Auckland was my first win of the year on the ATP tour, so to be able to start things off the right way, in a city I really enjoyed being, was really important to my success at the Australian Open and through the rest of the year. The city had a lot of great food and cool places to go; it felt small, just because we were in such a great area and there was so much to go see right near the hotel.”
With plans to take a ferry to Waiheke and see some black sand beaches, Shelton intends to explore more during his stay. The tournament director, Nicolas Lamperin, appreciated the young tennis star, and his confirmed participation for next year is a success for the event, demonstrating the value of the proactive use of wildcards.
Lamperin stated his remarks about Shelton and said: “He is the type of player that we target. We saw him as a hugely promising teenager who would benefit from playing at our tournament, and that Auckland is a great place for a young player in his first time traveling outside of the USA.”
Ben Shelton in 2023
At the moment ranked no.17, Ben played his last match on the 30th of October when he was overcome by world no.26 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-6(4) 5-7 6-3 in the 1st round in Paris (draw).
This season Shelton has a 28-26 win-loss record. This year, Shelton conquered 1 title in Tokyo.
Ben Shelton |
| Embed from Getty Images |
