Ben 10! Despite not having won a single title this year, America’s Ben Shelton has time and again succeeded in making the headlines this season. Earlier this year, he reached the SF of the AO before making it to the QF in Indian Wells. Although Shelton came inches closer to lifting the title at the BMW Open, he eventually had to go down to the world number 3, Alexander Zverev, in the final. Keeping that incredible momentum intact, he gave a tough fight to Carlos Alcaraz in the fourth round of the French Open. The Spaniard defeated him by 7-6(8),6-3,4-6,6-4 in that match, but following that defeat, Shelton is yet again back on the winning track. Recently, after securing his spot in the SF of the Boss Open in Stuttgart, he has now become the first American man born in the 2000s to break into the Top 10 in ATP singles rankings. What is his reaction to this incredible feat?
Talking about Ben Shelton, several tennis legends had previously made some bold predictions surrounding his future in the past. For example, in April 2024, Jimmy Connors said, “I think these next couple of months, he’s going to reach the pinnacle if he looks after himself and his game.” While Andre Agassi’s ex-coach, Darren Cahill, once came up with a more precise prediction, saying, “I’m not saying he’s going to race into the top five; I think eventually he’s a definite top ten player.” Furthermore, American legend John McEnroe went a step ahead in September last year by claiming, “I see Ben in the top five in the world if he keeps progressing.”
Now, since he has already secured a place in the Top 10, are we going to see him climb up to the Top 5 in the near future? Time will tell! But while sharing his reaction on this after his 6-4,6-4 win against Jiri Lehecka in the QF of the Boss Open, Shelton said that he’d first see it with his own eyes before he believes it. “If that’s true it’s really cool, a big milestone in tennis. I guess Stuttgart is the place where Americans break into the Top 10, because I think you guys all saw Frances Tiafoe do it here a couple of years ago when he won that title. I’m just thinking about this week. I want to keep going this week. I’m going to give it my all for the rest of this tournament.“
Ben Shelton didn’t believe it when they told him he’d cracked the ATP Top-10 #BossOpen pic.twitter.com/8DBYuUvPCf
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) June 13, 2025
Interesting Fact: Frances Tiafoe made his Top 10 debut after winning the title at this tournament in 2023. Surprisingly, just like Ben Shelton even he had risen up to number 10 from 12.
Ben Shelton just needed to do better than Daniil Medvedev this week, and guess what? Shelton’s close friend, Reilly Opelka, did a slight favor for him by defeating the Russian by 7-6(5),7-6(5) in the QF of the Libema Open. Talking about ranking targets, he once admitted that whenever he tries to put a number that he’s trying to reach, it’s almost like putting a ceiling on himself or limiting himself a bit. So, his goal is always to show up in a tournament and compete for titles.
With this win, he has now entered into his 10th tour-level SF and first on grass. He’ll next take on Zverev in the SF. The German has a 2-0 record against the American. Can Shelton open his account against Zverev with a win in his next match? Time will tell! Just like Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, Ben Shelton has now become one of the brightest prospects in men’s tennis. But how close is he to those two in terms of their level?
Ben Shelton shares his thoughts about coming closer to Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz
In September 2023, tennis legend Rod Laver hailed Ben Shelton’s brilliance by dropping a prediction about his chances of winning a Grand Slam title in the near future. He said, “Shelton is the new player on the tour. We’re going to see him winning a Slam, he’s got one of the biggest serves, a big left-hander, he doesn’t make many mistakes. He sees an opening and he goes for it.” His closest runs at the Slams have been reaching the SF of the US Open (2023) and the AO (2025).
But on the other hand, Carlos Alcaraz, who is also the same age as Shelton, has already won five major titles. While the 23-year-old Jannik Sinner has won three as of now. If we look at the stats, Sinner has a 5-1 record against the American, while it’s 3-0 for the Spaniard against Shelton. What does Ben Shelton have to say about how close she is to Alcaraz and Sinner?
After an incredible fight against Alcaraz at the 2025 French Open, Shelton replied to this question, saying, “I think executing in those small moments is the step that I need to win a match like that, and taking the step to the next level. For me, this is the closest that I have felt, just talking about Alcaraz right now, but the closest that I have felt in a match against him, and the most pressure that I thought that I have applied. The most comfortable I have felt in the baseline exchanges. It is the best I have hit my open stance backhand when he has put pressure there.”
Despite that loss, he claimed that he feels there are a lot of positives to take from that match, and he feels that his game has been improving a lot. “I don’t want to be disrespectful and be like I am right there, but I feel like I am close to being able to win some matches like that and give guys a run for their money more often and have these deeper runs more consistently,” said Ben Shelton. He now considers himself a really good Grand Slam match player, but can he get some more wins under his belt before starting his campaign at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships?
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