Ben Shelton reveals honest celebration plan after maiden ATP triumph
Ben Shelton has revealed how he celebrated winning his maiden ATP title at the Japan Open, while also declaring his first final “felt like another day at the office.”
The rising star divulged he would “eat a cheese burger” to toast his milestone win, while admitting he expected to be “a lot more nervous going into the match.”
Shelton produced an impressive display in his maiden tour-level final to earn a convincing a 7-5, 6-1 triumph over 30-year-old Russian Aslan Karatsev to win the Japan Open on Sunday.
The 21-year-old has climbed to a career-high ranking of world No 15 following his victory at the ATP 500 tournament in Tokyo.
The American made a remarkable comeback to prevail in a 6-7(2), 7-6(5), 6-4 contest against Marcos Giron in the semi-finals of the event on Saturday, having been down 2-5 and a double break in the second set.
In an interview with ATPTour.com following the final, Shelton – who is set to play again this week – was asked how he would celebrate his landmark victory.
“I am going to eat a cheese burger and then pack and get ready for my flight,” he admitted.
Shelton will feature at the ATP 500 event in Vienna this week, where he faces the brutal first round assignment of a clash with world No 4 Sinner.
The world No 15 also addressed how he felt competing in his maiden ATP final and the importance of making the US Open semi-finals last month.
“It means a lot. It is not something I thought I would accomplish when I started playing tennis. To be able to be in a position to compete for a title and hold my nerve and win one is really special for me and my team and something I will remember for the rest of my life,” explained the 21-year-old.
“It was interesting. I expected to be a lot more nervous going into the match, but I felt pretty calm and at peace and clear minded when on court. I am not sure what came over me and gave me the calmness and confidence that I had out there, but it felt like another day at the office.
“I think the semi-final run at the US Open gave me a huge amount of confidence that I could compete against the best in our sport and that I could continue to make deep runs in tournaments, doing it in three out of five sets.
“I showed myself that I was fit and in shape to go the distance, so it is something that has helped me a lot in the tournaments I have played after the US Open and hopefully I can carry on that momentum in the next year.”
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