“I’m addicted to playing on the big stages,” Ben Shelton beaming with pride as he overpowers Jannik Sinner to make the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters

Ben Shelton opens up on need to play on the big stages.

“I’m addicted to playing on the big stages,” Ben Shelton beaming with pride as he overpowers Jannik Sinner to make the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters

Ben Shelton on-court interview (L) and Ben Shelton (R). (Image via @TheTennisLetter/X and Olympics.com)

World No. 20 Ben Shelton defeated Jannik Sinner in the fourth-round match of the Shanghai Masters. Following his win, he admitted in the on-court interview that he might be addicted to playing on the big stages. While the American has not seen any titles in the smaller tournaments, he has been a force to reckon with in the big stages.

With a quarter-final appearance at the Australian Open and a semi-final at the US Open, it does not seem to matter to Shelton that he only made a debut on the professional stage a year ago. Adding to this list of achievements is his quarter-final appearance at the Shanghai Masters, an ATP Masters 1000 event. The tournament at Shanghai is another big one and the American does not seem to have any issue navigating the waters.

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In the on-court interview, Ben Shelton was asked, “You played in two Grand Slam quarter-finals. Now you’re in your first Masters quarter-final. Most people do it the other way round.” To this question, the 20-year-old had a reasonable answer. “I don’t know what to tell you. Maybe I’m addicted to playing on the big stages,” he said. He also mentioned his upbringing in the tennis world as a reason why he preferred the big stages. “I definitely haven’t had a normal upbringing in the tennis world or first year on tour, “ he said.

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He also admitted that his progress, though favorable, was going on backward. “It’s kind of been a little backward figuring things out as we go. I’m just going to try to keep building and improving each and every week,” he said. While this might be his first quarter-final appearance at a Masters event, his Shanghai campaign is not at its end. He will be facing Sebastian Korda in the quarterfinal of the tournament. There, he hopes to continue his spree and make it to the semi-final of the event.

Also read: Ben Shelton confesses to ‘looking up’ to Jannik Sinner as he lauds praise on the Italian following their Shanghai clash

Ben Shelton emphasizes the need to be humble

Ben Shelton, on his fourth round on-court interview, had been asked about the teaching of the ATP Tour so far. The young American replied, “I think that being out on tour as a tennis player, it’s easy for you to think that the world revolves around you but it doesn’t.”

Ben Shelton(Image via WWOS – Nine)

The American also said that how he treated the people around him and those working for the tournament were the most important aspects. “I think that it’s easy, just being in the situation myself and seeing it, it would be easy to take it for granted and think that you’re a star or that you’re bigger than you really are,” he said.

He also mentioned that he needed to realize that someone was watching every move he made. Transitioning from a ‘college kid’ to a professional tennis player, was a perspective that Shelton never considered before. However, the American admitted that he needed to watch everything he said or did moving forward.

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