American Tennis Sensation Ben Shelton Won The Biggest Title Of His Career Last Night, Jumped To Number 6 In the World, And Established Himself As a Real Threat At The US Open In A Few Weeks
Matthew Stockman. Getty Images.Since 2003, America has been looking for a man who can win a goddamn grand slam tennis title. 2003! So many names have came and went, coming up empty. American men's tennis was a joke for a while, but now we're littered all over the top 50 world rankings with guys like Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton, Tommy Paul, Frances Tiafoe, and Alex Michelson. Still though, they've yet to break through. Ben Shelton may very well be our best hope in a while.
Last night the 22 year old won the biggest title of his life up in Canada, taking down Karen Khachnov in three sets to win the National Bank Open, a Masters 1000 tournament.
The win vaults him up to number 6 in the world, surpassing someone named Novak Djokovic.
Ben's calling card is his big serve, which don't get me wrong is a massive weapon. It's so important to win free points on your serve rather than having to constantly tough it out on that side of the court. He's got a bazooka on that left arm and he spot it, spin it, blast it like very few in the world.
The strides he's made with the rest of his game, however, are eye-popping. When he first burst onto the tour a few years ago, the serve was all that he had. His return game was brutal to watch. It felt like 50% of serves hit to him weren't even sent back over the net. He had zero rally tolerance and no point construction. What I mean by that is he didn't really know what to do in order to win a point other than blast it by you and hope for the best. Now he's doing this…
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and this…
Obviously his big win came last night in the final, but the semifinal performance against Fritz was damn near perfect. Probably the best he's ever played. And like I said, he wasn't doing any of this a few years ago. Ben has put in the work and transformed his tennis to get here. The scary and fun part of it all is that he's just 22 years old. Guys don't hit their peak until their mid 20s, sometimes even after that. There is a monster brewing in this dude and the potential feels astronomical.
Now let's also bring this back to reality. Did Shelton beat Sinner or Alcaraz to win this title? No, a lot of top guys didn't play this tournament and instead skipped to focus on Cincinnati which started yesterday —the tour really is non-stop and it's an issue on the players. Is Shelton ready to beat Alcaraz or Sinner at a slam? Probably not right this second. But I'll say this. He's knocking on the door and firmly in the tier right below with the likes of Jack Draper and Taylor Fritz. You wanna throw Zverev in there too fine, but to me he's never winning anything of significance again. What I'm saying is that if Sinner or Alcaraz get hurt or lose early in a slam (it happens) Shelton will be there to step up and take advantage. That's all it takes sometimes. Often? No, but those windows open every now and then. I mean last year Alcaraz lost to Botic van de Zandschulp at the US Open. It takes a lot for Sinner to get ousted by someone not named Carlos, but who knows if he gets hurt or accidentally takes another steroid down the road.
Ben Shelton is fun to watch. My favorite quality of his is that he lives for the big moment. Part of the reason we've had this drought on the men's side is because a few guys just crumble under the bright lights. They shit themselves when facing a top level opponent when the stakes are at their highest. You see their games dissipate where they play passive and not to lose, rather than going for it. We call that the Zverev these days. Not Shelton. He saves his best tennis for those moments and thrives under pressure. It's refreshing to watch. Some hate him because they think he's cocky or obnoxious I guess? I don't really get that if you watch the dude.
Is he disruptive? Sure, but sue the guy for having energy. He's honestly a really nice kid. Marty, Blutman, and I have had the privilege of interacting with him a few times at Cincy and Indian Wells and each time he's been a really nice fella. I'm a fan and you should be too. Let's get him on a run in Flushing in a few weeks and see what can happen.