Ben Shelton faces the significant task of trying to overcome Jannik Sinner in the next round of the 2024 Shanghai Masters, but the American did not know he was playing the Italian until he was told about the matchup.
The American has become one of the biggest personalities on the ATP Tour despite still being so young. Shelton's upcoming match against Sinner will take place on his 22nd birthday.
He entered the Shanghai Masters after a tough defeat at the Japan Open. Fellow young star Arthur Fils won a dramatic quarterfinal in Tokyo in a final-set tiebreak after a match that was dramatic from start to finish.
However, Shelton has responded strongly at the penultimate ATP Masters 1000 tournament of the season. He defeated Denis Shapovalov in the opening round before completing a statement victory against Roberto Carballes Baena.
That win against Carballes Baena set up the match against Sinner, who Shelton defeated at last year's Shanghai Masters. His 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 win against the world No. 1 was one of the best three-set matches of 2023.
Sinner has won their last three meetings since then, and his improvements in the 12 months since losing to Shelton have been substantial. The former US Open semifinalist requires an outstanding performance to challenge the Italian.
Shelton will hope that a new mental approach off the court can help him in his match against the Australian Open and US Open winner. The details of this were revealed when a reporter asked him about playing Sinner in the next round.
Last year's Japan Open champion said he had not been looking at the draw lately and did not know Carballes Baena was his opponent before he stepped onto the court. However, Shelton acknowledged that he would have looked at the draw before his round of 16 match in Shanghai.
"Oh yeah? I'm really excited. I tend to not look at the draw lately, so. No, no, ovciously, after this match I was going to take a look, but before I went on court this time I didn't know."
The reporter who asked the question was fascinated by that answer and asked if he did this because he was superstitious. Shelton answered that he and his team wanted to emphasize living in the moment and not thinking too far ahead.
"Yeah, I think that one of the things that me and my team try to emphasize is live in the moment, don't look ahead to the next match, don't look ahead to the next week."
"I think if you're always looking for where is next on the calendar, or when you got home, it's tough to really do the job to the best of your abilities in the current situation you're in."
"So, you know, first of all, I'm focusing on Shanghai, I'm not thinking about whatever is in the next couple of weeks in Europe, and then thinking about the current match, so, yeah, that's kind of our philosophy."
Adrian Mannarino, who defeated Shelton at this year's Australian Open, is another player who does not like looking at the draw before or during tournaments. That mindset works for some players.
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