Ben Shelton heaps special praise on Carlos Alcaraz
Ben Shelton and Carlos Alcaraz recently played at the Laver Cup, where the Spaniard beat the American enroute to winning the Laver Cup.
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Ben Shelton and Carlos Alcaraz (via X)
American tennis star Ben Shelton has shared words of admiration for World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz. The left-hander spoke to the media after reaching the Swiss Indoors semifinals by defeating Andrey Rublev in three sets.
Shelton praised Alcaraz for his all-round skills, believing that the Spaniard has every shot in the book. Many back Shelton to reach the levels of Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in the coming years.
Alcaraz is a great athlete, capable of hitting every shot imaginable, he entertains the crowd and always has a smile on his face. He is a personality on the court, that is what I love to watch and he gives me that feeling of seeing an artist but also someone who plays at the highest level.
Ben Shelton at a press conference in Basel
Shelton’s major breakthrough came at the US Open last year, where he lost to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals. However, he still has work to do to match the level of Alcaraz.
Alcaraz has already won four Grand Slams and five Masters 1000 titles by the age of 21. The Spaniard is expected to add to his Grand Slam tally and reach the levels of the Big 3 (Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Djokovic).
Ben Shelton reaches Basel final
Ben Shelton’s powerful left-handed serve helped him break an impressive winning streak on the ATP Tour. In the Swiss Indoors Basel semi-finals, the sixth-seeded American defeated Arthur Fils 6-3, 7-6(9). This hard-fought 78-minute match ended Fils’ streak of 13 wins in ATP 500 matches. Shelton faced no break points and secured 88% of points on his first serve, but still needed to rally from 3/6 in the second-set tie-break to secure his victory.
Shelton, 22, and Fils, 20, were part of a group of young players competing in the ATP 500 semi-finals on Saturday. Shelton’s win set up a final clash against 21-year-old Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. Perricard reached the final by defeating fourth-seeded Holger Rune in a 7-6(6), 6-4 match.
This semi-final was the second recent meeting between Shelton and Fils, who had played each other just a month ago in Tokyo. The Frenchman won that close match, which was decided in a tie-break. Despite their friendship and teaming up for doubles in Basel, Shelton felt extra motivation to win this singles match.
Shelton’s strong season record now stands at 41-23. His success in Basel has also guaranteed him a return to the ATP Top 20. Currently ranked 19th in the live rankings, the left-hander could move up another spot to No. 18 if he wins the Basel final on Sunday.
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Fahad Hamid
(646 Articles Published)