By Richard Pagliaro | @TennisNow | Saturday July 6, 2024
Storming the net, Ben Shelton planted the family tree on No. 1 Court to set up a Wimbledon showdown vs. the world No. 1.
An assertive Shelton won 52 of 78 trips to net out-dueling Denis Shapovalov 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 fighting into the fourth round to make a major family mark at Wimbledon.
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With his father and coach, former ATP pro Bryan Shelton, looking over his shoulder, Ben Shelton matched his dad's best Wimbledon run, a round of 16 appearance 30 years ago.
"We did it! We're back big dog" Ben Shelton shouted to his father after a gripping three hour, five-minute victory.
"Yeah, pretty cool. I think a lot more impressive that he was able to do it back in the day, beating the No. 2 player in the world as 50-something in the world," Ben Shelton said of his father, who toppled No. 2 Michael Stich in a 1994 opening-round upset at SW19. "But, yeah, really happy that we get to kind of share this moment together again. Not again, but together for the first time. Yeah, I'm just looking forward to this next match.
"You know, we've been working really well together on the court. I think that with the new coaching rule, I think that the information that he's able to give me during the match, he can help keep me in the right state of mind. Yeah, I've really enjoyed the kind of back and forth that we've been able to have during the matches."
Father and son traded tactical talk with the younger Shelton amping up his aggression banging body serves to set up his first volley in the last set.
The 2023 US Open semifinalist Shelton won 11 of 15 trips to the net in the decider, raising his five-set record to 6-2. Shelton has won all four career five-setters he's played at The Championships, including going the distance in all three wins this tournament.
"There's a lot of things I appreciate about five sets," Shelton said. "The amount of time you are out there on the court. It's a physical test. You have to be ready to go the distance, and you have to be fit and in shape.
"There's also a lot of time for guys to make adjustments, so you can't just really blow a guy off the court in one way. Most of the time you have to be able to figure things out and make your own adjustments when the guy makes changes and starts figuring it out.
Shelton's willingness to close at net has been a key component of all three of his tournament wins this week.
"Today Shapo started doing a really good job in the fourth set of returning my serve, finding a way to neutralize, so I had to change it up," Shelton said. "In the fifth set I served almost every serve into the body and serve and volleyed. I think that's the part that I like the most about it: the game within the game."
Variety will be an essential element when Shelton faces world No. 1 Jannik Sinner for a quarterfinal spot.
Australian Open champion Sinner is 2-1 vs. Shelton with the 14th-seeded American scoring a 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(5) triumph in Shanghai last year. Sinner has won their last two meetings; three of the seven sets they've played have been decided in tiebreakers.
"I'm really excited. We have played three times. He's got me two of them," Shelton said of Sinner. "I think that it's always good to have played somebody before, beaten them, lost against them. You know kind of what it feels like going into the match."
Shelton says facing the world No. 1 at Wimbledon is the toughest test in tennis and insists he has no fear factor facing the Roland Garros semifinalist.
"He's one of the guys who has had the most success on tour so far this year as the World No. 1. I think it's a great opportunity for me, a great challenge and test," Shelton said. "The biggest challenge in tennis playing the top-ranked player in the world.
"But, you know, I'm never somebody to be scared going into a match or feel unprepared. I'm always confident in my abilities no matter who is on the other side of the net. I'm going to go out there and, like I said, try to problem-solve, figure things out as it goes and, yeah, just compete as hard as I can."
Photo credit: Rob Newell/CameraSport