Shelton Set To Lose American No. 1 Spot Only One Week After Reaching It

Shelton Set To Lose American No. 1 Spot Only One Week After Reaching It

by Erik Virostko

Ben Shelton climbed to the American no. 1 spot earlier this week, but he'll lose it already next Monday.

The American is arguably one of the most talented tennis player from the current generation, and that is especially true in his country, which is waiting for a player who would regularly win Grand Slam titles since the likes of Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras.

Shelton may be that player, and even though he's yet to win a major, he showed many times in his young tennis career that he has what many call the 'X-factor.' It's that X-factor that got him to a spot that meant he was the highest-ranked tennis player on the ATP Tour from the United States.

That applies this week, from April 15th to 21st, when Shelton is the highest-ranked American, and only the third left-handed player to reach that spot.

Being the world no. 14 in the ATP Rankings was enough for the 21-year-old to reach that spot, but he won't be the 14th player in the world on Monday, because his compatriot, Taylor Fritz, will take the spot away from him.

The 26-year-old is having a solid week at the Munich Open, where he reached semi-finals after eliminating British talent Jack Draper, and that earned him enough points to surpass his compatriot by 15 points and take the world no. 14 spot away from his.

Fritz can make one more step ahead by reaching the final, as that would mean that he would improve to the world no. 13 position, which is stil quite far from his career-high no. 5 position.

On the other hand, Shelton's 14th place was his best so far, but there isn't a doubt that despite losing the American no. 1 spot, the youngster will likely reclaim it in the future and break into the Top 10 as well.

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