Ben Shelton happy to have proved ‘few people wrong’ as he justifies his Laver Cup selection following his semis run at the US Open 2023

Ben Shelton recently achieved a career high ranking of World No. 19 after his sensational performance in the 2023 US Open.

Ben Shelton happy to have proved ‘few people wrong’ as he justifies his Laver Cup selection following his semis run at the US Open 2023

Ben Shelton (Via Imago)

When 20-year old American tennis player Ben Shelton was added to Team World in 2023 Laver Cup ahead of the US Open, fans all over the world were divided in opinions over his inclusion on the roster. Many argued that there are many higher ranked players who would be a better fit in the tournament than the youngster. In a recent press conference, Ben Shelton talked about his happiness on successfully being able to shut down those doubters after his sensational performance in the 2023 US Open. 

Ben Shelton reached the semi-final of the US Open, which is an amazing feat considering he was a complete underdog ahead of the tournament. He defeated the likes of Dominic Thiem, Tommy Paul, and Frances Tiafoe on his way to the semis. There, he gave tough opposition to eventual champion Novak Djokovic but ultimately ended up losing in straight sets. After his performance in the 2023 US Open, the 20-year old has surely earned the respect of fans all around the globe and shown his true potential. 

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“I’m really excited for the opportunity to play Laver Cup. You know, when the announcement first came out, I see all these comments on Instagram, ‘Oh, oh, why did you take him? Why? Why this guy? There’s so many higher-ranked guys’ coming into the US Open, it was like, ‘OK, I really have something to prove’,” Shelton said.

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He further continued, “I wanted to show people that maybe I deserved to be on the team or the people who said that I didn’t, kind of prove them wrong. I had a pretty good run here, and I’m happy that hopefully I was able to prove a few people wrong.”

Laver Cup is a team-based tournament that is played between Team Europe – comprising some of the best players from Europe, and Team World – comprising some of the best players from the rest of the World. It started in 2017 and is basically the Ryder Cup of tennis. 

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Full Roster of the 2023 Laver Cup

Laver Cup
Laver Cup (Source: Rogers Arena)

The roster for the 2023 Laver Cup has already been revealed. Team World consists of Felix Auger-Aliassime, Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Tommy Paul, Francisco Cerundolo, Ben Shelton, Christopher Eubanks (alternate), and Milos Raonic (alternate). The McEnroe brothers, i.e, John McEnroe and Patrick McEnroe, are the captain and vice-captain of Team World respectively. 

The 2023 Team Europe, on the other hand, consists of Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev, Holger Rune, Hubert Hurkacz, Gael Monfils, and Arthur Fils (alternate). Bjorn Borg and Thomas Enqvist are the captain and vice-captain of Team Europe respectively.

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