Despite dealing with injury concerns on Sudnay, Ben Shelton returned to the courts at the 2023 Shanghai Masters on Monday for a doubles match and stole the show.
In many ways, Shelton was the player the crowd reacted to the most, which makes sense. He's been quite popular since his surprise US Open run and the viral phone celebration that he turned into a global phenomenon.
He is playing really well this week in Shanghai and will face Jannik Sinner in the singles on Tuesday. His last match saw him deal with injury concerns as he called for a medical timeout but finished it with a victory over Roman Safiullin.
We don't know what the issue was, but seemingly, it's not huge enough to prevent him from playing. Shelton returned to the courts for a doubles match with Hubert Hurkacz against Rinky Hijikata and Cameron Norrie.
He played well but, unfortunately, could not power his team to victory. Hurkacz and Shelton were a break up when the match was interrupted in the first set. That completely killed the momentum they had at the time, which contributed to their loss even though they had their chances.
During the rain delay, though, Shelton stole the show by inviting a ball girl to sit below his umbrella while the players waited to see if the shower would be a quick one.
Ultimately, it wasn't a short one lasting a few hours, but the moment quickly went viral on social media. It's very similar to when Novak Djokovic did the same thing a few years ago as well. What's even more interesting is the crowd in the background, seemingly unbothered by the rain, just sitting normally in the stands.
The girl seemingly wasn't bothered by the rain either but accepted Shelton's offer and sheltered under the umbrella. Check out the wholesome exchange below.
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