Ben Shelton will compete at the 2024 Houston Open, which is the same tournament that his father managed to win 32 years ago.
Before 2008, there were a couple of clay-court tournaments played in the United States. The River Oaks International Tennis Tournament in Houston, Texas was one of them, and the other one was the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, which was played in multiple cities over the years, such as Orlando, Floria, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Charleston, South Carolina.
However, in 2008 these two tournaments merged, and as we know it today, the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships is played at the River Oaks Country Club in Houston, Texas, as an ATP 250 tournament.
In 2024, the top seed in the draw of the Houston Open is Ben Shelton, and should he win the tournament, it wouldn't be the first time that name Shelton would appear on the winner's trophy in Houston.
Bryan Shelton was a fairly successful tennis player, reaching the career-high position of the world no. 55, and playing in the fourth round of Wimbledon in 1994, and the second round of every other Grand Slam tournament.
In 1992, Bryan Shelton won also the River Oaks International Tennis Tournament, a tournament won by the likes of Rod Laver, Ivan Lendl, and Roy Emerson. Funnily enough, it was won also by Christian Ruud, a father of another ATP player, Casper Ruud, in 1996.
While the Norwegian player doesn't compete in Houston this year, Ben Shelton will be there, and he will try to recreate his father's success 32 years later, with the 58-year-old watching from his box.
As a top seed, the 21-year-old received a first-round bye, which means he will start the tournament in the second round. The American will take on Zizou Bergs from Belgium, after the Belgian defeated American qualifier Patrick Kypson.
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