Wimbledon: Shelton Survives Shapovalov

In the game that started yesterday with No. 3 The court also ended today under the roof at No. 1 Court, American Ben Shelton, the 14seed, Canada’s Denis Shapovalov survived 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 reaching the fourth round of Wimbledon.

This is Shelton’s third five-set win at The Championships.

Thirty years ago, Bryan Shelton, his father and coach, also made the fourth round.

Bryan Shelton was a professional player and former coach at the University of Florida (where his son played for two seasons). He reached a career high of world No. 55.

Ben Shelton’s best Grand Slam result is reaching the semifinals of 2023 In the US Open (lost to Novak Djokovic). In old age 20became the youngest American man to reach the semifinals of In the US It has been open since Michael Chang joined 1992.

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Shapovalov, whose highest ranking was World No. 10reached the semifinals of Wimbledon in 2021. Last year, he reached the round of 16. He won the Wimbledon boys’ singles title in 2016.

This was the first meeting between the two left-backs, who played in parallel. Both have a gung-ho, all-or-nothing game that works well on grass. They are aggressive, demanding.

They have large fossils that cannot dive through the grass. In this match, Shelton hit seven aces and only four errors, while Shapovalov hit six aces and fought 13 double faults.

They have good volleys, although the Sheltons are better. He won 52 of 78 (67%) net points, and Shapovalov won 21 of 40 (53%).

The main difference between the two is that Shapovalov has a one-handed backhand with a full swing, while Shelton has a two-handed backhand that is straight and compact. Shelton can mix it up a lot on the return, which is especially useful when he’s locked into a left body swing into a left backhand.

In his courtroom interview, Shelton said, “We’re back, big dog,” to his father, after matching his ability to reach the fourth round.

In his press conference, Shelton added: “Yeah, it’s great. I think it’s very impressive that he was able to do it back in the day, beating the No. 2 player in the world [Michael Stich] like 50– something in the world.

“But, yeah, we’re really happy that we get to kind of share this time together again. Not again, but together for the first time.

“Yes, I am looking forward to this next game. You know, we’ve been working really well together on the court. I think that with the new training rule, I think that the information that he is able to give me during the game, can help me stay in the right state of mind. Yeah, I really enjoyed the kind of back and forth we were able to have during the games.”

Shelton’s fastest delivery 149 mph, but said he was focused on trying not to hit big serves during the tournament. “I think three sets out of five plays a lot of games, you want to try to save your arm as much as possible. My off-pace server was working pretty well, so I’ve been trying to patch it up and replace it.

“I think it’s always important to be quick and show the guy that I can hit a big serve, so you have to respect him and be ready for him.

“You know, I know I have that in my arsenal and I know I have bigger resources than that as well. But yeah, I was just trying to put things together while I was there. “

Shelton said there are many things he enjoys about playing five sets. “The time you are sitting in court. Physical examination. You have to be ready to go the distance, and you have to be fit and in shape.

“There’s also a lot of time for guys to make adjustments, so you can’t just put a guy on the court one way. Most of the time you should be able to find things and make your own adjustments when the boy makes adjustments and starts to understand.

“Today Shapo started doing a great job in the fourth set of returning my serve, finding a way to wear it down, so I had to change it. In the fifth set, I serve almost all the services in the body and serve and close.

“I think that’s the part I like the most about it: the game within the game.”

Next up for Shelton is world No. 1 Jannik Sinner. The Italian had an off day today, and Shelton said: “Obviously a day off is better than playing five sets a day before you play three out of five. I was telling my coaches that physically after this game today, it’s the best I’ve felt in the last two or three months.

“I’ve been dealing with a lot of things on and off, and most of those issues have been alleviated. So, I’m very happy with where my body is right now. Yes, I am 100% good for distance travel. If it goes five sets again tomorrow, I’ll be ready to go all the way.”