Ben Shelton delighted to follow in ‘physical beast’s’ footsteps
Ben Shelton is following in the footsteps of fellow American Andy Roddick and he admits it is “pretty cool to be mentioned in the same sentence” as his compatriot when it comes to tennis milestones.
Aged 22, Shelton has become the youngest American man to reach the quarter-finals at Wimbledon since a 21-year-old Roddick achieved the feat in 2004.
Roddick was seeded second that year and he ended up reaching the final before losing in straight sets against Roger Federer – the first of three Wimbledon finals he lost against the Swiss great.
The big-serving Roddick was already a Grand Slam winner at that stage as he won the 2003 US Open while he also made it to the semi-final at SW19 as an 18-year-old a few months earlier.
After beating Lorenzo Sonego 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-1), 7-5 to reach the last eight at Wimbledon for the first time, Shelton was asked if he based his game on that of former world No 1 Roddick.
“I wasn’t really playing tennis yet when he was still playing. Obviously seen a ton of tape now,” the world No 10 said. “He had nuke, bigger serve than me. He could run all day. He was a grinder, just a physical beast. Someone that I’ve looked up for inspiration. Massive forehand, great footwork.
“Someone who’s been there along the way, sending some messages, giving some advice. Not always directly, but my dad or through Dean Goldfine, who was coaching me when I first came on tour. It’s kind of just been a great resource as another American who did a lot of the things that I’d like to do in this sport and did them at a really young age.
“Seems like everything that I’ve done, it’s the first to be done since him. He’s got me beat pretty much in every category.
“No, it’s pretty cool to be mentioned in the same sentence as him. Yeah, definitely look up to him and think very highly of him.”
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The American is set to rise to a new career-high of No 9 after Wimbledon, but a tougher assignment awaits in the quarter-final as he will face world No 1 Jannik Sinner.
Sinner looked set for a fourth-round exit as Grigor Dimitrov won the opening two sets before the Bulgarian picked up a pectoral injury and was forced to retire.
Asked about facing the three-time Grand Slam winner or Dimitrov, Shelton replied: “Don’t really need to say anything there. The guy’s [Sinner] a machine.
He added: “I think it’s a great opportunity for me to go for it and be aggressive and come after whoever I’m playing and try to get to the semi-finals at Wimbledon for the first time.
“So I want to play my best tennis late in these tournaments. To beat either of those guys in two days, I’m going to have to play at a really high level.”
