Ben Shelton believes he has learnt a lot from playing in Europe during the clay court season.
Throughout April, Shelton played at four different European clay court events on the continent and he made a roaring start by beating Constant Lestienne in his first-ever red clay match at the Estoril Open. However, the 20-year-old suffered exits at the following Monte-Carlo Masters, Barcelona Open, and Madrid Open.
But, despite getting knocked out in the opening rounds of some recent clay court competitions, Shelton is not feeling downbeat. Instead, when speaking to the ATP Tennis Podcast, the 20-year-old shared some of the many learning points from his experience on the European clay courts.
"It's really important to be patient, you have to be patient. It's a lot more physically demanding to play on a clay court. I think that it's important to stay locked in mentally, just because points can go longer and games can go longer, which make the matches a lot longer. So being able to focus for that extended period of time was really important."
Also, the young American player was asked about his adaptation between the European courts and the US clay surfaces. Shelton said he has found a huge amount of difference between the two, especially when comparing the bounce and set-up of the courts.
"I think there is a big difference. I've been able to play in a lot of great clubs in Europe so far. So the courts have been in amazing condition, great bounces and you know, everything is easier at these clubs that have big crews taking care of the courts."
"In the US mostly I've played on green clay. It varies from surface to surface, but it definitely isn't thought about the same in the US compared to here. But it's been only nice clubs that we've played at so far. So yeah, the courts have been great."
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