Ben Shelton shocked by success after moving into Japan Open semis
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Ben Shelton hits a return against Tommy Paul during their quarter-final match at the Japan Open.
PHOTO: AFP
TOKYO – Rising tennis star Ben Shelton, 21, said on Friday that his career has moved “a lot faster than I would have thought” after advancing to the Japan Open semi-finals.
He has quickly made a name for himself since turning professional in August 2022, reaching the quarter-finals of the Australian Open in January and the semi-finals of the US Open in September.
The world No. 19 beat fellow American Tommy Paul 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 in Tokyo to move a step closer to his first ATP Tour title, and said he was “really happy with the way things are going”.
“I didn’t think right away that I was going to be a pro as soon as my college career was over, that I would be on the main ATP Tour this quickly,” said Shelton, who will play another American, Marcos Giron, in the semi-finals.
“Definitely things have moved a lot faster than I would have thought when I was in college.”
He is still taking classes at the University of Florida but would have to “see if it’s something that I continue to do” or decide to leave his education until later.
He gave the Tokyo crowd another glimpse of his undoubted talent with an impressive win over Paul, the fifth seed whom he also beat at the US Open.
Shelton added he had to play “more within myself” to deal with the strong wind blowing around the stadium, and was happy to continue his recent run of form after reaching the quarter-finals of last week’s Shanghai Masters.
“Wins are tough out here so to get three in a row is something that’s a pretty cool feat for me, something that hasn’t happened often yet in my career,” he said.
Shelton has also become known for celebrating wins with his now-trademark “dialled-in” gesture with an imaginary telephone. He has yet to do the celebration this week but might reconsider “if I were to win the title here”.
“I’m not really someone who thinks about celebrations before the match – it’s kind of just a spontaneous thing,” he said. “I guess I haven’t felt it as much this week.”
Semi-final opponent Giron moved on after a 6-1, 6-4 win over Canadian No. 8 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime. The world No. 79 came through qualifying and knocked out Norwegian second seed Casper Ruud in the second round.
Meanwhile, top-ranked Novak Djokovic will start his 2024 season at the mixed teams United Cup in Australia but his great rival Rafael Nadal was not in the Spain team released on Friday.
Djokovic will lead Serbia at the second edition of the A$15 million (S$13 million) event from Dec 29-Jan 7 before bidding for a record-extending 25th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open.
Team Poland, led by four-time Slam champion Iga Swiatek and 11th-ranked Hubert Hurkacz, are top seeds at the 18-nation tournament, which was won by the United States in January.
Nadal played for Spain in that edition and while he described it as a “great idea” he criticised the format for having teams play off in dead rubbers. He later lost in the second round of his Australian Open title defence after aggravating a hip injury and has not played since.
Tournament director Craig Tiley has said Nadal will play in the 2024 Australian Open but his representative said there was no date set for his comeback. If fit, Nadal could warm up for the Slam with a pair of tournaments in Adelaide from Jan 1. AFP, REUTERS
