Ben Shelton will take on Tommy Paul in a big Grand Slam match for the second time this year, and he hopes to do a bit better on home soil at the 2023 US Open.
Shelton and Paul had a supernova start to their seasons Down Under, making their way to the quarter-final of the Australian Open. Neither was expected to do so, but Shelton's run was far more surprising as it was his maiden Grand Slam experience.
The American will now take on Paul for another Grand Slam quarter-final, and he hopes to do a bit of a better job. Although Paul does have the edge against his compatriot because he's been playing at this level on the ATP Tour for a longer time, the youngster can still surprise him. It's something that played a factor in the first matchup, which Shelton admitted in his most recent press conference.
Yeah, I think that was a match where I was a little unsure of what to expect. I hadn't really been in that situation before, quarterfinals of a Grand Slam, on Rod Laver, packed stadium.
I think I panicked a little bit, pressed early in the match, and he kind of got on top of me and was the frontrunner from there. I hope to do a little bit better job of that this time around.
He should handle the moment far better this time around as he's back home. Being a US player will only do so much because Paul is also one. The crowd will likely back both players at different times in the match, so neither will have a clear advantage.
The experience gap still remains even though it's smaller than earlier this year. Whether Shelton can overcome that remains to be seen, but he should handle the moment better. Paul is still favoured and expected to win, especially after beating Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
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