Ben Shelton Reveals Why He Decided to Play Davis Cup Days After US Open Final Defeat
World No.4 Ben Shelton has so far won four titles this season.
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Ben Shelton (Image via TIME)
Ben Shelton couldn’t end American men’s Grand Slam title drought as he lost to Alexander Zverev in the final of the recently concluded US Open. After two semifinal defeats, Shelton reached his career’s first Major final in his home Slam.
Had he defeated the German, he would have become the first American man since Andy Roddick in 2003 to win a Major. It was Sascha’s sixth consecutive victory over Shelton in what was also their first meeting in a Grand Slam tournament.
Days after his defeat, Shelton flew to Prague to represent the USA in the Davis Cup Round 2 Qualifiers. Learner Tien gave the USA a 1-0 lead by defeating Jakub Mensik, but Shelton lost to Jiri Lehecka in straight sets. Later, he told reporters why he decided to compete in another tournament so soon after the US Open.
I’m just happy to be representing the USA here. I think it’s an honour to be able to play. I missed the tie we played against Czech last year post-US Open because I was injured. I wasn’t going to miss this one no matter what happened at the US Open.
Ben Shelton said (H/T: Tennis365)
The doubles team gave the USA a 2-1 lead after Christian Harrison and Austin Krajicek clinched a three-set win over Adam Pavlasek and Patrik Rikl. Later, Mensik came from a set down to defeat Shelton, and Lehecka registered a straight-set win over Tien.
So far at the Davis Cup, Shelton, who made his debut in 2024, has played two ties and lost all three singles matches. He has also played doubles once, in 2024, and lost it.
Steve Flink backs Ben Shelton to become the best server on the tour
The Ben Shelton versus Alexander Zverev clash was also a match between two of the best servers on the tour. Zverev broke Shelton’s serve four times, but the 23-year-old broke him only once. Reacting to the final, Tennis Hall of Fame journalist Steve Flink said he is convinced that, with more improvement, Shelton will become the best server on the tour.
I don’t think this is discouraging for Shelton. Obviously, he would have to love to have won, and we agree that he went out there fully believing he would win. But I don’t think it sets him back, because he knows it’s very hard to get to one of these finals.
Steve Flink said on the Court-Side with Beilinson Tennis YouTube channel
Shelton has smashed 553 aces so far this season, the fourth most on the men’s tour. Taylor Fritz leads the table with 724 aces, followed by Zverev (669) and Jakub Mensik (566).
He’s 23, and he knows, as we know, that he’s going to get a lot better in all facets of his game. There’s so much room for improvement, including that devastatingly potent serve, where people debate should he go for more 142’s and 146’s, should he be mixing it up, he’ll figure all that out, and above all, he’ll figure out how to be more accurate with that serve, and as that happens in the years to come and he’s landing it closer to the lines consistently.
Steve Flink added
Not just Shelton, Zverev also participated in the Davis Cup. On the first day of the Qualifiers tie between Germany and Croatia, the 29-year-old clinched a straight-set win over Matej Dodig, calling the match “extremely difficult”.
After the Davis Cup, Zverev will compete at the China Open, which runs from 30 September to 6 October. World No.1 Jannik Sinner will enter the ATP 500 event in Beijing as the defending champion.
Gouri Das
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