"Unreal experience" - Shelton after leaving US for first time in his life and experiencing Australian crowd
ATP
Ben Shelton will be playing in the fourth round of the 2023 Australian Open on his first trip away from the United States of America.
Last year, the 20-year-old American recorded one of the most significant moves in the ATP Rankings when he jumped from the World No. 573 position all the way to the Top 100.
Thanks to that, he can now qualify for all Grand Slam tournaments, and that means he had to leave his country for the first time, as he revealed when he was traveling to Australia.
In the third round of the tournament, Shelton took on home player Alexei Popyrin, and the match was played at the John Cain Arena. The young American experienced an atmosphere that Australian fans are capable of producing, and he spoke about it afterward.
"It feels great. I said on the court that it's a pinch-me moment. Unreal experience out there on the court today with that Aussie crowd. It was a lot of fun to be out there, and I'm happy to be moving on."
After the match, Shelton immediately called his parents. His father, Bryan, who is a former ATP World No. 55 player, coaches his son during his time spent at the University of Florida.
"He was definitely excited. It's like 5:40 there, and they have a match today, the team does. So I think I messed up his sleep schedule a little bit. He still has his analytical mind going and talked to me about the things that I did really well today and the few things that I could have done a bit better. So, yeah, he was happy overall."
The youngster also talked about his upcoming opponent, J.J. Wolf. If Shelton manages to beat his compatriot, he will advance to the quarter-finals of the 2023 Australian Open.
"We're good friends, like to joke around a lot, have a lot of locker room banter. So he is a good guy. Definitely excited to be able to play him, and I think it's a match that the crowd will for sure enjoy."
