By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Thursday, October 24, 2024
Ben Shelton beat home hero Stan Wawrinka 7-6(2), 7-5 to set up a Basel quarterfinal showdown vs. top-seeded Andrey Rublev.
Photo credit: Garrett Ellwood/US Open/USTA
Tactics and targets are among pre-match topics Ben Shelton discusses with his dad and coach Bryan Shelton.
Today, the 22-year-old Shelton showed toughness on pivotal points to power into his ninth quarterfinal of the season.
Shelton saved all five break points he faced, subduing home hero Stan Wawrinka 7-6(2), 7-5 and Swiss fans to set up a Basel quarterfinal showdown vs. top-seeded Andrey Rublev.
Yesterday, the 39-year-old Swiss wild card Wawrinka broke in the final game edging Frenchman Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 in a thriller to make his mark on history. Wawrinka surpassed his friend and Swiss Davis Cup teammate Roger Federer to become the oldest man to record a match win in Basel.
Today, Wawrinka earned four more break points and dropped just five points on first serve, but Shelton competed with clarity, served with variety, and attacked at the right times subduing the Swiss superstar and home fans.
“We were joking in the locker room before the match that he’s been on tour as long as I’ve lived,” Shelton said of Wawrinka in his on-court interview afterward. “So he’s got a lot of experience out here, obviously a lot of miles around the world. He’s done some incredible things for our sport, especially here in Switzerland, you can tell with the fan support today.
“I had to smile at times during the match because obviously it’s against me, but it’s so cool to see a country and a tournament get behind a guy like that who’s been such an icon. So shout out to Stan. It’s crazy. I don’t think I’m still going to be out here winning matches at 39.”
A tennis career is a journey. Shelton believes shifting his service speeds has helped him accelerate on the learning curve.
US Open fans remember the left-handed Shelton unleashing his record 149 mph rocket serve en route to the 2023 US Open semifinals—the fastest serve in Flushing Meadows history—as well as the 143 mph blast he threw down vs. Frances Tiafoe in New York last summer.
A more mature Shelton now aims to expand the box rather than trying to blast holes in the back wall on serve.
These days, Shelton serves with more subtlety, aims to create sharper angles to open court, but can still bring the gas—his fastest serve today was 143 mph.
Still Shelton, who is second in break points saved (71.64%), fourth in aces and fifth in service games won (88.14%) on the ATP Tour this season, is a more effective and unsettling server. Because returners aren’t quite sure what’s coming next.
Facing Wawrinka, who has a pretty big grip change between forehand and backhand returns, Shelton served 74 percent, pumped 9 aces against 1 double fault and lost just 6 points on second serve.
“I kind of changed my serving mentality since I’ve come out on tour,” Shelton said. “I’d say that my serve speed has probably slowed down, on average 10 miles an hour, for the first serve, and that’s been on purpose.”
While he doesn’t ride the rocket launcher as much anymore, Shelton does set himself up for the first-strike forehand with that wide slider serve, especially on the ad side.
“I used to try to just hit rockets every time. Now, I’m really trying to dial into spots,” Shelton said. “I’ve been really happy with the way that my serve has been improving. I’ve been getting tighter on my spots and hitting a lot more aces, which is ultimately what I want to do: Be tight on the lines.
“Today, I was a little bit off in terms of my spots and he got his racquet on a lot of balls because I was missing some spots. So I think that’s one thing I’m going to be looking for in the next match to try to get a little tighter to those lines.”
The server was in charge for the first four games.
Serving at 3-all, Shelton put a leaping smash off the tape that plopped wide as Wawrinka earned a second break point. Shelton slammed down three first serves in a row subduing stress for a 4-3 lead.
Swiss fans roared as Wawrinka forced the tiebreaker. Then Shelton pressed mute.
Exploiting Wawrinka’s deep return position, Shelton dabbed a drop volley and fired an ace wide for a 5-0 tiebreaker lead.
A serve-and-volley winner brought Shelton set points and he crammed a kick serve down the T closing the opening set in 49 minutes.
The ability to attack and close net under pressure was key today: Shelton won 10 of 14 trips to net.
Shelton saved a couple of break points holding for 4-all in the second set. The former all American amped it up on serve winning 10 consecutive points on serve—wrapped around the break for 6-5—and 12 of the last 13 points of the match to secure his quarterfinal spot.
“I thought I was just tough in the big moments. There were a lot of challenges out there today,” Shelton said. “He played a really good match. The crowd was really into it, obviously behind there guy and I was struggling returning his serve. I thought he put the ball in some tricky positions. I was happy with the way I defended my break points. I thought being clutch in the big moments is what made me win the match today.”
Canadian wild card Denis Shapovalov snapped Antwerp champion Roberto Bautista Agut’s six-match winning streak with a 6-3, 7-6(4) win.
Shapovalov, who beat Bautista Agut for the third time in as many meetings, will face either his buddy, double-defending Basel champion Felix Auger-Aliassime or big-serving Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard for a semifinal spot.
Stefanos Tsitsipas fended off qualifer Botic van de Zandschulp 7-6(3), 7-5.