Legendary tennis player Rod Laver backed Ben Shelton to win a Grand Slam event in the future, and not many would disagree with him.
Ben Shelton is the name in tennis right now, especially after an incredible run at the US Open recently, where only Novak Djokovic could stop him in the semi-final. It was a great show of talent and maturity from the very young Shelton, who marches on towards stardom.
Instead of going on a vacation, Shelton opted to play at the Laver Cup, excited about the chance to learn from fellow professional players, and it's been a delight. He delivered the first point for Team World, who smashed Team Europe on that first day. The second day didn't go any differently, and once again, Shelton was delivering a win in doubles together with Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Legendary player Rod Laver is in Vancouver to watch the event that was named in his honour, and he was pretty impressed by what he saw from Shelton in person. He responded to a fan question on social media, declaring Shelton a future Grand Slam winner.
Shelton is the new player on the tour. We're going to see him winning a Slam, he's got one of the biggest serves, a big left-hander, he doesn't make many mistakes. He sees an opening and he goes for it.
The take itself isn't that groundbreaking because Shelton's talent was quite evident early on. The quickness by which he broke out is impressive as he went from a solid challenger player to an ATP regular in literally months.
It's not unusual for super talents like him, but it's certainly a predictor of future success. Shelton is yet to win an ATP trophy but the American looks destined to win a dozen, not just one.