Ben Shelton Withdraws From Sofia Open After First-Round Paris Masters Exit
ATP
Ben Shelton has pulled out from next week's Sofia Open for an undisclosed reason, a day after exiting the Paris Masters at the first hurdle.
The big-serving young American was sent packing by Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. Despite a second-set fightback, Shelton was the only one to drop his serve in the deciding set. Defeat ends his slim hopes of qualifying for the ATP Finals in Turin next month.
Shelton put himself in contention to play at the season finale for the first time after motoring in the rankings in the past couple of months. He reached his first Grand Slam semifinal at the US Open, which fast-tracked his rise into the world's Top 20, and won his maiden ATP title in Tokyo a few weeks ago.
Shelton made his Top 15 debut following the Japan Open and thrusted his name among the contenders to qualify for the ATP Finals. He needed to win the Paris Masters for that dream to materialize. The 21-year-old hasn't given any reasons why he has pulled out from Sofia.
The Sofia Open is one of two ATP 250 events running next week and which will serve as the final stop for the ATP Tour's regular calendar. We can only speculate at this point, but Shelton did voice concerns about the frequent ball changes having an effect on his body.
During one of his practice sessions in Paris, Shelton posted on Instagram that he didn't have "arm issues" before the tournament, but has been impacted by the new ball at the event.
Cases of players succumbing to shoulder and arm injuries are becoming rampant, and the ATP hasn't commented on the issue despite the general consensus that it is the ball.
The American lefty also withdrew from his doubles match at the Paris Masters scheduled on Tuesday. Maybe the failure to qualify for the ATP Finals prompted him to make the call to withdraw from Sofia.
Shelton, however, has one more tournament to play - the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - in late November.
