Ben Shelton wanted to prove people wrong at the 2023 US Open, and he did that with an impressive run that ended in the semi-finals.
Shelton proved himself as a capable player pretty early in 2023, making the second week in his maiden Grand Slam outside of the United States in Australia. The season since then, his first on the ATP Tour, has been okay at best, with the American losing most of his matches leading up to the US Open.
Many wondered whether he could handle the pressure that comes with it, and he felt it. There was a need 'to do well' in New York to sort of quiet the critics after some shaky months. His response was superb: a run to the semi-final, a decent showing against Novak Djokovic,
Coming into the US Open it was like, okay, I really have something to prove. I wanted to show people that maybe I deserved to be on the team or the people who said that I didn't, kind of prove them wrong. I had a pretty good run here, and I'm happy that hopefully I was able to prove a few people wrong.
Shelton is not going to rest too much, as he's going to Vancouver for the Laver Cup. His inclusion in the team came as a surprise to many, but he's a star in the making so it's natural. It's something he's excited about, facing some of the best.
Yeah, I'm really excited for the opportunity to play Laver Cup. You know, when the announcement first came out, I see all these comments on Instagram, Oh, oh, why did you take him? Why? Why this guy? There's so many higher-ranked guys.
Shelton is part of Team World with Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Tommy Paul, Francisco Cerundolo, and Felix Auger-Aliassime. Team Europe is represented by Holger Rune, Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Hubert Hurkacz, and Gael Monfils.
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