Ben Shelton Is Back in New York. Hes Still Dialed In.
Last week, in |A|
the quiet, upstairs green |B|
room of a giant |C|
Brooklyn field house that |D|
the Swiss sportswear brand |E|
On had transformed into |F|
a swanky tennis arena |G|
for its pre-US Open |H|
fête, Clubhouse Nights, 21-year-old |J|
Ben Shelton appeared buoyant |K|
and relaxed, as if |L|
hed come home after |M|
eight months on the |O|
grueling, singularly intercontinental professional |P|
tennis circuit. Shelton, the |Q|
13th-ranked player in the |R|
world, is from Atlanta, |S|
but he seems unusually |U|
well-adjusted to the clamor |V|
of New York, where |Y|
last year he enjoyed |Z|
a breakout run to |A|
the semifinals of the |B|
U.S. Open, announcing himself |C|
as the Next Big |D|
Thing in American mens |E|
tennis (and launching the |F|
sports coolest victory celebration |G|
in the process). At |H|
six-foot-four, with one of |J|
the biggest serves in |K|
tennis, Shelton embodies the |L|
kind of fratty energy |M|
seen more often on |O|
the verdant campuses of |P|
American state schools. But |Q|
in person, hes less |R|
swaggering than he is |S|
boyish, bearing the wide-eyed |U|
smile of a young |V|
man enjoying the limelight—and |Y|
the coveted endorsement of |Z|
Roger Federer. Before kicking |A|
off the years final |B|
Major, Shelton gave us |C|
exactly seven minutes of |D|
his time to talk |E|
Challengers and the state |F|
of American tennis. Then, |G|
he helped us assemble |H|
the perfect tennis player, |J|
in the aggregate. ——— |K|
BEN |M| SHELTON: Thanks.
NEVINS: How |O| does it feel coming |P| back after last years |Q| breakout run?
SHELTON: I |R| feel good, man. I |S| think that Ive grown |U| a lot in the |V| past year, and learned |Y| a lot of things. |Z| I feel like some |A| of my best tennis |B| is starting to come |C| out. I know that |D| Im not a complete |E| product, and I have |F| a lot of things |G| that Im still working |H| on every day, but |J| I like where Im |K| at right now coming |L| to the US Open.
|M| dir="ltr">NEVINS: It seems like |O| youre rounding into form |P| at the right time. |Q| You had a really |R| good week in Cincinnati. |S| But I know this |U| year has had its |V| ups and downs. The |Y| tennis commentariat likes to |Z| anoint young prodigies prematurely, |A| and that was you |B| at the Open last |C| year. Whats been the |D| toughest challenge in the |E| 12 months since?
SHELTON: |F| Yeah, I think in |G| tennis you have plenty |H| of setbacks, plenty of |J| times where youre not |K| the one winning or |L| doing well. And thats |M| part of learning and |O| part of finding ways |P| to improve. Nothing good |Q| comes easy. I had |R| a period of time |S| in between the US |U| Open and the Australian |V| Open where I struggled |Y| a lot. And there |Z| were some similar times |A| this year—not quite as |B| much struggle, but I |C| underperformed in areas where |D| I thought I could |E| do better. And I |F| think those are the |G| moments where youre able |H| to improve and find |J| that extra 1% that |K| you want to get |L| better.
NEVINS: Its been |M| 21 years since an |O| American man won a |P| major, but theres five |Q| of you in the |R| top 20. How do |S| you handle that pressure, |U| cause there will be |V| a lot of noise |Y| these next two weeks.
|Z| dir="ltr">SHELTON: Yeah, for sure. |A| Every time that I |B| go out there, Im |C| playing for my country. |D| I have the American |E| flag on my chest, |F| not literally, but Im |G| just excited about where |H| American tennis is at. |J| Im not sure whos |K| going to be the |L| next guy to win |M| a slam. But I am sure |O| that there is going |P| to be somebody in |Q| the future, an American, |R| who wins a slam, |S| and I think that |U| were steadily improving. We |V| went from one to |Y| two to three to |Z| four to five guys |A| in the top 20 |B| in a short time. |C| So for me, its |D| really encouraging. And the |E| competitiveness is the best |F| part of it. Were |G| all pushing each other. |H| Since Ive pushed into |J| the top 20, top |K| 15, Ive seen other |L| guys come through. And |M| the more that each |O| of us improves, the |P| better were going to |Q| be as a group.
|R| dir="ltr">NEVINS: Youre at career-high |S| right now, right?
SHELTON: |U| Yeah. 13.
NEVINS: Hell |V| yeah.
SHELTON: Not bad.
|Y| dir="ltr">NEVINS: Not bad at |Z| all. Lets switch gears. |A| Have you seen Challengers?
SHELTON: |B| I have seen Challengers.
NEVINS: |C| What did you think?
|D| dir="ltr">SHELTON: I mean, I |E| wasnt the biggest fan |F| of the movie, to |G| be honest. I thought |H| that the tennis part, |J| they did a great |K| job with that.
NEVINS: |L| Go on.
SHELTON: The |M| guys technique, the way |O| that the ball was |P| moving, it all looked |Q| real. I liked the |R| concept of it, but |S| I didnt really understand |U| the plot.
NEVINS: What |V| didnt you understand?
SHELTON: |Y| For me, it was |Z| like… Zendaya is in |A| a love triangle with |B| two guys. But even |C| the ending—I mean, the |D| match never finished. Whatever |E| happened at the end |F| was kind of strange. |G| They just jumped into |H| each others arms. Right?
|J| dir="ltr">NEVINS: Yeah.
SHELTON: So |K| Id say that part, |L| for me, I didnt |M| understand as much. But |O| I liked the idea |P| of it, and I |Q| liked that a lot |R| of people liked it.
|S| dir="ltr">NEVINS: They did. I |U| get emails like, “Searches |V| for tennis lessons rise |Y| by 500%.” I dont |Z| know how much Challengers has to |A| do with that, but |B| thats a nice byproduct |C| of the movie.
SHELTON: |D| For sure.
NEVINS: These |E| guys are going to |F| cut me off, so |G| Im going to finish |H| with something fun. I |J| want you to build |K| your ideal composite tennis |L| player: serve, forehand, backhand, |M| etc.
SHELTON: Okay. Serve, |O| because for me hes |P| the greatest normal-sized server |Q| of all time, Ill |R| take Federer.
NEVINS: Right. |S| Forehand?
SHELTON: Im going |U| to take Nadals forehand. |V| Im going to take |Y| Djokovics backhand and his |Z| return serve.
NEVINS: Wise.
|A| dir="ltr">SHELTON: Im going to |B| take Stefan Edbergs volleys.
|C| dir="ltr">NEVINS: Oh, okay. Hes |D| before your time.
SHELTON: |E| He is. Ill take |F| Pete Sampras overhead and |G| athleticism.
NEVINS: Okay. What |H| about intangibles?
SHELTON: Wait. |J| Movement, I might take |K| Alcaraz.
NEVINS: Word.
SHELTON: |L| And mentality, Im going |M| to go Rafa for |O| sure. Theres so many |P| little niche parts of |Q| tennis where you could |R| take different guys, but |S| Id say those are |U| my main categories.
NEVINS: |V| Thats an unbeatable player |Y| youve put together. Good |Z| luck next week.
SHELTON: |A| Yeah, for sure. Appreciate |B| it.
|C|
