There is a lot of noise around Ben Shelton and his second proper season on the ATP Tour, but he's blocking it all out.
After producing a sensational effort in his first full season as a professional player, Shelton is looking to do even more this year. A shaky start in Australia created a lot of noise about whether he will be able to live up to the really high standard he set last year.
He's now a known player, so other players won't be caught off guard, which will make things even tougher. It's been quite tough this year, with some painful losses, but he's elected to stay out of all the talk and simply focus on himself.
He did that well in Indian Wells, starting the first ATP Masters 1000 tournament of the season with an important and hard-fought win over Jakub Mensik, and after the match, he spoke about the outside noise.
"I choose to focus on the things that the people in my inner circle, the people that I'm really close to, the things that they think and they say about me."
That's a pretty good mindset to have if you're a young player still searching for your place on the ATP Tour. He has a place among the best in the world; he's proven it a couple of times, but it only gets tougher from here. Taking the next step will require a focused effort from Shelton, and he's ready for it.
"I'm not as worried about the media or the outside attention, or comments on me or my game, because me and my team have a pretty clear idea of where I want to go and the things that I want to develop. Those are the things that I choose to focus on."
The first match in Indian Wells was tough, but he overcame it to win three sets, and he'll want to keep going.