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MELBOURNE, Australia – Mammoth service and banana smile: the only American representative in the last four of the Australian Open, Ben Shelton hopes to have found the recipe to put an end to the drought of American tennis in Grand Slams.
Falling from the Italian Lorenzo Sonego (55th) on Wednesday, the American will face world No. 1 Jannik Sinner on Friday for a place in the final of the Australian Grand Slam.
In the four major tournaments, the last American to have lifted a trophy was Andy Roddick (2003 US Open). A few months earlier, Andre Agassi won the Australian Open. Another era, even if hyphens can be drawn.
“Benny” Shelton, 22 years old and 20th in the world, shares with the first the power of the serve, which flirts with 220 km/h with sometimes peaks at 240. From the second, he took over the fluorescent outfits and the art of hustling the codes of his sport.
During the 2023 United States Open, his celebrations – in particular he mimed a telephone receiver that he was hanging up – annoyed Novak Djokovic, who reproduced the gesture after his victory against the American in the semi-final. “It’s my reaction to a provocation that came from across the way,” explained the Serb a few months later.
“In hockey, we have the right to fight after a collision,” notes Shelton in an interview with The Team published in January. I’m not saying we need that in tennis, but there’s too much criticism whenever a guy does the slightest thing. »
2024 in halftone
Monday in the round of 16 of the Australian Open against Gaël Monfils, another showman on the circuit, he could only have one ally. The complicity between the two players and the ovation demanded by the left-hander from Georgia for the 38-year-old Frenchman despite his defeat, had everything of the passing of the baton between the veteran and his “friend”, according to Monfils’ expression.
The Margaret Court Arena did not need to be asked, already electrified throughout the meeting by its roaring “come on!” », biceps pumped up to the max, after each important point, and his lightning forehands.
If he has retained the same freshness as during his sensational debut in 2023 on the ATP circuit, with a quarter-final at the Australian Open, the year 2024 of “Big Ben” Shelton (1.93m, 88 kg ) was less striking.
He certainly won a second trophy, in Houston (after Tokyo in 2023), but fell to 21st place (he was 17th at the end of 2023).
-It was especially in the Grand Slam, with a round of 16 at Wimbledon for best performance, that Shelton disappointed.
The son of former pro Bryan Shelton, who became his coach, has already gone further in 2025 by developing a more complete game than that of a simple hitter, valuable in keeping Sonego out of his way.
Better return
“Having a game plan in mind” rather than “just coming in and hitting the ball hard and seeing what happens is important,” Shelton said Monday.
The Atlanta native, who turned out to be a tennis player late in life after dreaming of a career in American football as a teenager, is now more focused on the areas affected by his serve than on his speed.
A sign of this evolution, Shelton is averaging less than 200 km/h on his first balls since the start of the tournament.
“I need to be more precise in my serves. In almost all service-related categories, I am among the best, but my precision (…) is below the circuit average,” he said after his first round.
The American is also paying more attention to his return games.
“When I look at my statistics, I see that they are improving” but not yet enough for his liking, he assured Monday, while welcoming a “very high break point conversion rate on the circuit”, “right next to the best returners in the world”.
For the rest, he knows that he can count on his above-average chest to go the distance over 5 sets.
By Monfils’ own admission: “Man, playing against you, I told you, playing you in a Grand Slam, it’s just too physical! »
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