Andy Roddick tells Ben Shelton what he must change to become a top-3 player after French Open loss
Andy Roddick believes that Ben Shelton has it in him to become one of the best players in the world – but he needs to make adjustments to make that a reality.
Shelton suffered his earliest Grand Slam exit since Wimbledon 2023 when he lost in round two of the French Open on Wednesday.
The American suffered a straight-set defeat to Raphael Collignon 6-4 7-5 6-4, as he failed to create a single break point on the Belgian’s serve.
Shelton won 18 fewer points; for return points won, he was down at 19% to Collignon’s 33%, and he made more than double the amount of unforced errors.
The 23-year-old may have one of the best serves on the ATP Tour, but it seems other parts of his game still need to be ironed out.
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In the wake of this defeat, Roddick has urged the American No 1 to use his physicality more, something that has never really been in question off the back of making five Grand Slam quarter-finals in his career.
Shelton has shown that he can thrive in the best of five format but against Collignon, Roddick thinks the left-hander didn’t give his opponent enough of a different look.
He said on the latest episode of Served, “The next version of Ben that I think really like lives in the top three to five is one that can extend rallies when he needs to, and at least stress test that option against someone else.
“He should never open with giving someone rhythm. It was a mistake that I made a million times, right? But if it’s not working and we have four sets to figure this out, let’s see if we can get into someone’s legs. Because Ben’s a horse. Like he’s, he’s built.
“Like I haven’t really seen him get tired in matches. He has the wheels to do it. Like if someone’s not burning you a certain way, like he was only getting burned, calling you on his forehand, pulling him off the court to the back end. And then Ben would try to get out of it by forcing it back in line or doing something to break that thing.
“If someone’s best pattern… if you’re hanging in there and it’s not bothering you and you show that at least a little bit, then that person’s going, ‘Oh, that little, the combo I like to play’. If that’s a stressful situation, then it changes the dynamics of the match a little bit.”
Shelton is at a career-high ranking of five and is just 220 points behind Felix Auger-Aliassime in fourth.
However, both Alex de Minaur and Novak Djokovic could overtake him if they reach the second week of the French Open. Incidentally, Alexander Zverev is nearly 1,500 points ahead of the American in third.
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