Ben Shelton and the Rush to Negative Judgment (among many)

[RaulRamirez]

I don't know all that much about Ben Shelton. We all know that in his first full season as a pro, he made the QFs at the AO, and just now, the semis at the US Open.
His dad, Bryan (who I vaguely recall on the tour in the late 80s, early-to-mid 90s....made it into the top 55 or so) coached him at the U of Florida, and I think, is still his coach.
And Ben is off to a great start. Only 20, he's #19 in the live rankings and #17 in the live race.

He's also become a lightning rod for criticism, and I find the criticism wildly disproportionate to his "offenses", or alleged offenses. As far as I can tell, he celebrates too frequently for many, and too boisterously at that. And, and, apparently, he did (does?) this hang-up-the-phone celebration gesture after matches.
Holy Crap, the world is coming to an end. It's the ruination of tennis. Our society needs more organized religion." I wish I was exaggerating on that last one.
What the actual ____?!

Why are we so quick to rush to judgment? Has he ever had any true arguments with other players? Cursed out loud? Swung his racket at the umpire's feet after a ,match? Had any tirades against officials? Even smashed rackets? Had any off-the-court incidents? (Some of this, I don't know, but I haven't seen or heard of anything.)

I was rooting for Novak in his (winning) semi against Ben Shelton, but I voiced my displeasure with his mock-Shelton's-phone-gesture on the way to the net. And as a big Djokovic fan, one thing I admire about him is that for whatever emotions he displays during matches, he is almost always quite gracious at the net, win or lose. But the handshake here was rather cold.
And then, a majority of posters jumped on Shelton's press conference afterward when he actually minimized any silly controversy there. Why? Because he didn't bow down to Djokovic enough, when asked how he felt playing against him. Ben answered kind of honestly that he treated it as playing against any other opponent. Something like that, which is the mindset one needs to adopt. He wasn't giving an evaluation of Djokovic's career or pretending he was on the same level. I mourn the lack of reading and listening comprehension skills - here and everywhere.

There's way too much to say here, and I have to run, but can we ever just treat every single player as a human being. None are perfect, none are evil. And in this case, please wake me up, when Ben Shelton has one on-court outburst even comparable to the hundreds exhibited by players such as Connors, McEnroe, and even early-career Agassi. But we get people in our sights and just tear them down. For what, and why? And there are some posters who really need to critically analyze their "why".

Enjoy the tennis...if you can. I've heard that there's a big final today between two amazing players.

 

[mental midget]

yeah i don't have a problem with anything he's said or done...and honestly the game needs drama. when tennis was at its height of popularity there were clearly defined characters: borg the iceman, connors, mac the temperamental genius, nastase, vitas the playboy etc...it gives a much wider audience something to relate to, WWE-style.

the only thing that bothers me personally is cheating: time wasting, fake MTOs, etc. Weak sauce.

 

[D.Nalby12]

Strictly talking about his tennis - he is overrated. His shot technique is crap.

 

[TheSlicer]

Strictly talking about his tennis - he is overrated. His shot technique is crop.

He is not the most technical player but he has good touch and is not afraid to go to the net, plus he has a huge serve and is a lefty, Also great mental game, if he can improve his consistency he is a top 10 player easy, and depending how much he improves, more than that

 

[NeutralFan]

Strictly talking about his tennis - he is overrated. His shot technique is crop.

Don't know why people are so concerned with what he does or what he says instead of his tennis.

 

[Clay lover]

I agree it's much ado about nothing. It's people with fragile egos who can't take their opponents celebrating a deserved awarded point projecting their "morals" onto the sport.

Don't wanna see the celebration, don't lose the point/ hit the unforced error. Even if you hit an unforced error it's obviously on you.

 

[nolefam_2024]

I don't know all that much about Ben Shelton. We all know that in his first full season as a pro, he made the QFs at the AO, and just now, the semis at the US Open.
His dad, Bryan (who I vaguely recall on the tour in the late 80s, early-to-mid 90s....made it into the top 55 or so) coached him at the U of Florida, and I think, is still his coach.
And Ben is off to a great start. Only 20, he's #19 in the live rankings and #17 in the live race.

He's also become a lightning rod for criticism, and I find the criticism wildly disproportionate to his "offenses", or alleged offenses. As far as I can tell, he celebrates too frequently for many, and too boisterously at that. And, and, apparently, he did (does?) this hang-up-the-phone celebration gesture after matches.
Holy Crap, the world is coming to an end. It's the ruination of tennis. Our society needs more organized religion." I wish I was exaggerating on that last one.
What the actual ____?!

Why are we so quick to rush to judgment? Has he ever had any true arguments with other players? Cursed out loud? Swung his racket at the umpire's feet after a ,match? Had any tirades against officials? Even smashed rackets? Had any off-the-court incidents? (Some of this, I don't know, but I haven't seen or heard of anything.)

I was rooting for Novak in his (winning) semi against Ben Shelton, but I voiced my displeasure with his mock-Shelton's-phone-gesture on the way to the net. And as a big Djokovic fan, one thing I admire about him is that for whatever emotions he displays during matches, he is almost always quite gracious at the net, win or lose. But the handshake here was rather cold.
And then, a majority of posters jumped on Shelton's press conference afterward when he actually minimized any silly controversy there. Why? Because he didn't bow down to Djokovic enough, when asked how he felt playing against him. Ben answered kind of honestly that he treated it as playing against any other opponent. Something like that, which is the mindset one needs to adopt. He wasn't giving an evaluation of Djokovic's career or pretending he was on the same level. I mourn the lack of reading and listening comprehension skills - here and everywhere.

There's way too much to say here, and I have to run, but can we ever just treat every single player as a human being. None are perfect, none are evil. And in this case, please wake me up, when Ben Shelton has one on-court outburst even comparable to the hundreds exhibited by players such as Connors, McEnroe, and even early-career Agassi. But we get people in our sights and just tear them down. For what, and why? And there are some posters who really need to critically analyze their "why".

Enjoy the tennis...if you can. I've heard that there's a big final today between two amazing players.

I already had problems with his over the top celebrations. I just don't like it, and on top of that he gets a pass by commentators because 1. He is American and 2. He is young. I don't like that.

I also didn't like Nole's mocking but the kid deserves at least some bashing according to me.

 

[Clay lover]

I already had problems with his over the top celebrations. I just don't like it, and on top of that he gets a pass by commentators because 1. He is American and 2. He is young. I don't like that.

I also didn't like Nole's mocking but the kid deserves at least some bashing according to me.

You said you don't like them, but what are your reasons?

 

[A_Instead]

He is a big strong young man.. experience and tennis ability will grow as more ATP court time occurs..
Perhaps folks put an expectation on him of NCAA champion straight to Grand Slam Champion..a fairly aggressive stretch goal..
His results in his 1st year isn't to shabby..
To loose to the GOAT on Ash in the Simi..
Most don't even earn that chance..

 

[nolefam_2024]

You said you don't like them, but what are your reasons?

I don't like his celebrations. Screams too much. Looks childish.

 

[TheSlicer]

He is celebrating like he is in college tennis, i think nole didnt like that, thats all, it didnt bother shelton, as he said, if you win the match you get to celebrate it the way you want, plus we all tought it was funny, at least at first, maybe after you can think a 23 gs champion mocking a kid on his first year in a match that wasnt even disputed, is a bit of an abuse, but this is sport and it was funny, plus its a nice celebration to be honest

 

[a10best]

Strictly talking about his tennis - he is overrated. His shot technique is crap.

Gulbis, Khacahnov, Tiafoe have ugly FH technique as well.
In Tennis yea, he is over-rated. He's made one slam semi beating two next-gens on the way. Nothing to see here

 

[a10best]

I don't like his celebrations. Screams too much. Looks childish.

Similar to Collins celebrating after winning a point, not a game. A point. We're talking about a point, not a game or a set.
We don't want college or traveling jr. style antics after every point.

 

[ojo rojo]

It's all just a storm in a teacup.
Alas, many of you seem to prefer a mug

 

[michael valek]

I think he’s great. I like the phone celebration and lefties dont need the same technique, they have a higher natural skill set. A breath of fresh air.

 

[serbiavic]

I don't know all that much about Ben Shelton. We all know that in his first full season as a pro, he made the QFs at the AO, and just now, the semis at the US Open.
His dad, Bryan (who I vaguely recall on the tour in the late 80s, early-to-mid 90s....made it into the top 55 or so) coached him at the U of Florida, and I think, is still his coach.
And Ben is off to a great start. Only 20, he's #19 in the live rankings and #17 in the live race.

He's also become a lightning rod for criticism, and I find the criticism wildly disproportionate to his "offenses", or alleged offenses. As far as I can tell, he celebrates too frequently for many, and too boisterously at that. And, and, apparently, he did (does?) this hang-up-the-phone celebration gesture after matches.
Holy Crap, the world is coming to an end. It's the ruination of tennis. Our society needs more organized religion." I wish I was exaggerating on that last one.
What the actual ____?!

Why are we so quick to rush to judgment? Has he ever had any true arguments with other players? Cursed out loud? Swung his racket at the umpire's feet after a ,match? Had any tirades against officials? Even smashed rackets? Had any off-the-court incidents? (Some of this, I don't know, but I haven't seen or heard of anything.)

I was rooting for Novak in his (winning) semi against Ben Shelton, but I voiced my displeasure with his mock-Shelton's-phone-gesture on the way to the net. And as a big Djokovic fan, one thing I admire about him is that for whatever emotions he displays during matches, he is almost always quite gracious at the net, win or lose. But the handshake here was rather cold.
And then, a majority of posters jumped on Shelton's press conference afterward when he actually minimized any silly controversy there. Why? Because he didn't bow down to Djokovic enough, when asked how he felt playing against him. Ben answered kind of honestly that he treated it as playing against any other opponent. Something like that, which is the mindset one needs to adopt. He wasn't giving an evaluation of Djokovic's career or pretending he was on the same level. I mourn the lack of reading and listening comprehension skills - here and everywhere.

There's way too much to say here, and I have to run, but can we ever just treat every single player as a human being. None are perfect, none are evil. And in this case, please wake me up, when Ben Shelton has one on-court outburst even comparable to the hundreds exhibited by players such as Connors, McEnroe, and even early-career Agassi. But we get people in our sights and just tear them down. For what, and why? And there are some posters who really need to critically analyze their "why".

Enjoy the tennis...if you can. I've heard that there's a big final today between two amazing players.

I saw the handshake. Don't think it was that cold. Shelton was a bit salty and also in the press conference as well. A bit cold relatively but just business and not that cold.

 

[Bill Lobsalot]

I saw the handshake. Don't think it was that cold. Shelton was a bit salty and also in the press conference as well. A bit cold relatively but just business and not that cold.

That;s right. Show me a loser who doesn't get annoyed and I'll show you a loser.

 

[No_Kwan_Do]

I didn't have an issue with Shelton's celebrations or behaviour and I don't have a problem with Djokovic's either. A lot of it was probably picked up and encouraged on the college circuit as I see players like Collins, Schnaider and Stearns on the WTA with the same walk and talk. Tennis players aren't robots all programmed with the same code and flashed with the same firmware. The more variety, the better.

Personally, I'd much rather see someone like a Shelton on the tour over someone that routinely bends over for their idols and shows them far too much respect.

 

[ABCD]

I heard from people who were there that Ben shouted "this guy has no serve" and "this guy has no game" (for Djokovic) to his box. It seems that many people heard it including Djokovic.

 

[nolefam_2024]

It's all just a storm in a teacup.
Alas, many of you seem to prefer a mug

I do prefer more professionalism. If you think it's mug to be respectful, we have much different celebrations of mugs. I think a mug is unsuccessful loser.

 

[nolefam_2024]

I heard from people who were there that Ben shouted "thus guy has no serve" and "this guy has no game" (for Djokovic) to his box. It seems that many people heard it including Djokovic.

Amazing then since Nole is the GOAT.

 

[Tennfan123]

I think it’d be better for him if he’d strung together more solid results between slams. He lacks some credibility and his slam runs seem flukey and weren’t tough. Unless you’re claiming Paul and Tiafoe were amazing scalps.

 

[mental midget]

Gulbis, Khacahnov, Tiafoe have ugly FH technique as well.
In Tennis yea, he is over-rated. He's made one slam semi beating two next-gens on the way. Nothing to see here

shot selection might need work but his strokes look relatively solid to me. KK's forehand has that weird hitch and he has real problems hitting through the ball...shelton can clearly flatten it out big time. tiafoe, same with the hitch but he hits through the ball much better than KK. Gulbis...man don't get me started, not sure what happened there. He had huge potential, game just sort of unraveled.

 

[junior74]

All the stuff people could "interpret" from his uncontroversial presser, is quite surprising. The axe falls quickly these days.
A constantly polarised public debate changes the way people discuss topics with each other.

 

[Winners or Errors]

I already had problems with his over the top celebrations. I just don't like it, and on top of that he gets a pass by commentators because 1. He is American and 2. He is young. I don't like that.

I also didn't like Nole's mocking but the kid deserves at least some bashing according to me.

Because we all know Novak has never engaged in over the top celebrations…

 

[TearTheRoofOff]

The tennistic economy was already totally and utterly shagged years ago, and the cause of stemming the tide of endemic hyperinflation grows ever more desperate, hence the ever growing disdainful condescension towards the cavalcade of failures to do so.

 

[a10best]

I'm going to say Shelton has peaked. He'll be another Brooksby, Fritz, or Tiafoe and never go any further in a slam.
Ben's ground game is inconsistent (still in college mode) and so is his serve.
He's been hyped like they all are after reaching "1" slam semi or going deep in a M1000. He's still a tier 3 or 4.
Carlos, Med and Djoker- tier 1
Zev, Sinner, Rublev, Rune - tier 2 (Zev will move up once 100%)
Americans, Sharpo, Khachanov, - tier 3

 

[TheNachoMan]

The tennistic economy was already totally and utterly shagged years ago, and the cause of stemming the tide of endemic hyperinflation grows ever more desperate, hence the ever growing disdainful condescension towards the cavalcade of failures to do so.

I need a thesaurus.

 

[metsman]

Shelton is obnoxious and there's no room in tennis for that kind of soccer/NBA/NFL attitude, but that's just how the youth are these days, the bigger problem is of course the complete lack of talent that allows a mug like Shelton to get anywhere near a major SF.

The younger guys not being that good is one thing, they could at least have a modicum of class, play some interesting tennis, etc. At least be easy to root for. It's extremely easy to root for Djokovic these days actually, just so these clowns get put in their place.

 

[a10best]

shot selection might need work but his strokes look relatively solid to me. KK's forehand has that weird hitch and he has real problems hitting through the ball...shelton can clearly flatten it out big time. tiafoe, same with the hitch but he hits through the ball much better than KK. Gulbis...man don't get me started, not sure what happened there. He had huge potential, game just sort of unraveled.

not sure why but too many americans I get behind and think they will improve just don't enough. They tend to have one good run.
I hope I am wrong and he does improve with less or no bush league disrespect.

 

[mental midget]

i'm hopefuly for shelton. like i said his serving potential isn't just good, it's top 3 on tour potential-wise and the easiest thing to control. also helps up your chances big-time even if you're otherwise having an off day.

it's going to be all about shot tolerance and playing within himself. unless you're roger federer it is extremely hard to get and stay at the top purely through shotmaking...the top players are too good, ball's gonna come back.

return-wise i'd love to see him take a page from roger's book, if you can just get consistent with blocking balls back deep you'll get into a lot of your opponent's games.

he tends to take a big rolling cut with that forehand, easy to send balls long like that. might be nice to shorten up that swing on rally balls and simplify just a bit...shapovalov does the same thing, capable of huge power but has trouble controlling those topspin shots that land short, easy to launch them with such a big motion.

 

[weakera]

He's just a zoomer, is it everyone's first time seeing one?

 

[ChrisJR3264]

Shelton just has a big serve and forehand. That’s not going to win you anything.

This also isn’t college tennis. He did a lot of talking and celebrating when the guy is 12-20 this year. Maybe win something first before you talk.

Yelling to your box down 2-6 3-6 2-3 saying “oh he didn’t like that one” at 0-15 in the game is just immature and cocky for a , well guy whos getting crushed.

 

[RaulRamirez]

I heard from people who were there that Ben shouted "this guy has no serve" and "this guy has no game" (for Djokovic) to his box. It seems that many people heard it including Djokovic.

I'm not aware of that. If true, that would cross a sportsmanship line for me.

 

[Benf15harp]

I only read the title and I’m here to say for the 3rd time ……that kid gives me cancer.

 

[Olli Jokinen]

I think he’s great. I like the phone celebration and lefties dont need the same technique, they have a higher natural skill set. A breath of fresh air.

What?

 

[Rozroz]

I only read the title and I’m here to say for the 3rd time ……that kid gives me cancer.

yea he rubs me the wrong way the minute i saw him.. i guess he's good for the sport or whatever. i prefer Kyrgios over him.

 

[D.Nalby12]

Don't know why people are so concerned with what he does or what he says instead of his tennis.

The last thing TT people care about a player is his Tennis. Everything else come first..

 

[BeatlesFan]

Why are we so quick to rush to judgment? Has he ever had any true arguments with other players? Cursed out loud? Swung his racket at the umpire's feet after a ,match? Had any tirades against officials? Even smashed rackets? Had any off-the-court incidents? (Some of this, I don't know, but I haven't seen or heard of anything.)

Allow me to suggest you're overanalyzing Shelton and why many don't like him. Some players are simply unlikeable to many fans. Shelton has an undeniable attitude which rubs many people the wrong way. People have the right to hate whatever player they want and Ben is going to attract negative emotions. He already has.

Just one observation: at IW, I watched live the doubles match between Felix/Shapo vs. Rune/Shelton. I literally sat 10 feet behind the teams on the changeovers and could hear 90% of what the 4 players were saying. The only mature adult was Felix. Ben was not rude, but had the lowest maturity level of anyone out there by far, he was like a 4 week old puppy among lions. Ben was irritating even Holger who told him to chill after dumping another volley in the net because he was showing off and leaping around.

If Ben's going to act like an alpha male, then win tournaments. Acting the way he does when he's won nothing is a bad look and deservedly invites contempt. Keep a low profile and celebrate only when you win big matches.

 

[mental midget]

Shelton just has a big serve and forehand. That’s not going to win you anything.

This also isn’t college tennis. He did a lot of talking and celebrating when the guy is 12-20 this year. Maybe win something first before you talk.

Yelling to your box down 2-6 3-6 2-3 saying “oh he didn’t like that one” at 0-15 in the game is just immature and cocky for a , well guy whos getting crushed.

he did make the semis of the uso and quarters of ao, not bad for first year on tour. for sure he's immature, but i'm all for cockiness out there. he does tend to celebrate opponent's misses pretty...enthusiastically, which is maybe a little off-putting, but overall...i mean, belief is step one so good to see he's got it.

and fwiw mentioned it a few times but his overall mechanics are pretty sound...backhand is solid, no hitches or whatever in the fh and has variety there, and willing to come to net and ok when he gets there.

 

[Bambooman]

Strictly talking about his tennis - he is overrated. His shot technique is crap.

Tennis is not a judged sport.

 

[Bambooman]

Because we all know Novak has never engaged in over the top celebrations…

It's OK when you're the actual winner.

 

[BeatlesFan]

Plase wake me up, when Ben Shelton has one on-court outburst even comparable to ...Connors, McEnroe, and even early-career Agassi. But we get people in our sights and just tear them down. For what, and why? And there are some

The three players you mentioned have 23 slams among them. When Connors and Mac were Shelton's age, they'd already won a slam and all were hugely popular and put fans in the seats all over the world. Shelton doesn't do that outside a night session at his home slam.

Whatever outbursts Mac or Connors had, they were ATG's. Shelton is a nobody in comparison and nobody will make excuses for him. He hasn't earned it.

 

[Federev]

I don't know all that much about Ben Shelton. We all know that in his first full season as a pro, he made the QFs at the AO, and just now, the semis at the US Open.
His dad, Bryan (who I vaguely recall on the tour in the late 80s, early-to-mid 90s....made it into the top 55 or so) coached him at the U of Florida, and I think, is still his coach.
And Ben is off to a great start. Only 20, he's #19 in the live rankings and #17 in the live race.

He's also become a lightning rod for criticism, and I find the criticism wildly disproportionate to his "offenses", or alleged offenses. As far as I can tell, he celebrates too frequently for many, and too boisterously at that. And, and, apparently, he did (does?) this hang-up-the-phone celebration gesture after matches.
Holy Crap, the world is coming to an end. It's the ruination of tennis. Our society needs more organized religion." I wish I was exaggerating on that last one.
What the actual ____?!

Why are we so quick to rush to judgment? Has he ever had any true arguments with other players? Cursed out loud? Swung his racket at the umpire's feet after a ,match? Had any tirades against officials? Even smashed rackets? Had any off-the-court incidents? (Some of this, I don't know, but I haven't seen or heard of anything.)

I was rooting for Novak in his (winning) semi against Ben Shelton, but I voiced my displeasure with his mock-Shelton's-phone-gesture on the way to the net. And as a big Djokovic fan, one thing I admire about him is that for whatever emotions he displays during matches, he is almost always quite gracious at the net, win or lose. But the handshake here was rather cold.
And then, a majority of posters jumped on Shelton's press conference afterward when he actually minimized any silly controversy there. Why? Because he didn't bow down to Djokovic enough, when asked how he felt playing against him. Ben answered kind of honestly that he treated it as playing against any other opponent. Something like that, which is the mindset one needs to adopt. He wasn't giving an evaluation of Djokovic's career or pretending he was on the same level. I mourn the lack of reading and listening comprehension skills - here and everywhere.

There's way too much to say here, and I have to run, but can we ever just treat every single player as a human being. None are perfect, none are evil. And in this case, please wake me up, when Ben Shelton has one on-court outburst even comparable to the hundreds exhibited by players such as Connors, McEnroe, and even early-career Agassi. But we get people in our sights and just tear them down. For what, and why? And there are some posters who really need to critically analyze their "why".

Enjoy the tennis...if you can. I've heard that there's a big final today between two amazing players.

I like a lot of what you write here. Really some good things to chew on. like how we view jMac for instance compared to how much flak we gave Ben.

I think my irritation w Ben was the “kind” of thing he did - as I interpreted it.

Like - it may not have at all been what he meant, but I did not like the way it seemed to me: a boast right after match point that your opponent can see - and that’s dismissive of your opponent.

If that is what it was - we’ll, I don’t think that’s kind. I would just say that it seemed to me - at first - like a taunt. But now I don’t think it’s a taunt. I think he likes Foe a lot and wouldn’t do that. So I think I misjudged it. Maybe Novak did to.

But yeah - I hate stuff where it’s a boastful “rubbing salt in the wound” after a loss. And that’s how it struck me at first.

When Rafa says “VAMOS” or Roger pumped his fist or even cried - or when Novak looks to his box and roars (not my favorite anyway)- it never seems directed at the opponent.

That’s what I don’t want. A boast - like making muscle flexes - is already a big a turn off to me, like “look how great I am!” Or cupping the ear for applause. I hate that stuff. It’s happening more and it’s just not dignified to me. I think humility is good. You can still celebrate like crazy without it being a “look how awesome I am” moment.

But especially anything that’s intentionally right in your opponents face after you win as a “rub it in” - that’s what I would really hate. And that’s what Shelton seemed to do - as I first saw it.

I no longer do.

And in hindsight - even though I loved what Novak did at first cause I was ticked at what Shelton did to Foe - now I think maybe it was a mistake.

Maybe Novak took it wrong too. I wouldn’t be surprised.

Anyway - I’m glad to be challenged by your post.

 

[RaulRamirez]

Allow me to suggest you're overanalyzing Shelton and why many don't like him. Some players are simply unlikeable to many fans. Shelton has an undeniable attitude which rubs many people the wrong way. People have the right to hate whatever player they want and Ben is going to attract negative emotions. He already has.

Just one observation: at IW, I watched live the doubles match between Felix/Shapo vs. Rune/Shelton. I literally sat 10 feet behind the teams on the changeovers and could hear 90% of what the 4 players were saying. The only mature adult was Felix. Ben was not rude, but had the lowest maturity level of anyone out there by far, he was like a 4 week old puppy among lions. Ben was irritating even Holger who told him to chill after dumping another volley in the net because he was showing off and leaping around.

If Ben's going to act like an alpha male, then win tournaments. Acting the way he does when he's won nothing is a bad look and deservedly invites contempt. Keep a low profile and celebrate only when you win big matches.

On the whole, this reply is fair, but some of the reactions - as I indicated - have been quite premature and unfair.
There can be a line between celebrating your points, but not celebrating your opponent's errors. And a line between pumping yourself up and doing it in such a way that you're demeaning your opponent. Perhaps, he's been crossing those lines -- I don't know.

But let's give him more of a chance to adjust to the pro tour. And as I wrote (and you've followed tennis about as long as I have, and perhaps even more closely), there have been quite a few players -- famous and otherwise -- who have said and done some really bad things, demeaned officials, etc. So far, that doesn't seem to be the case with him -- it's just with tamping down his celebrations.

 

[RaulRamirez]

I like a lot of what you write here. Really some good things to chew on. like how we view jMac for instance compared to how much flak we gave Ben.

I think my irritation w Ben was the “kind” of thing he did - as I interpreted it.

Like - it may not have at all been what he meant, but I did not like the way it seemed to me: a boast right after match point that your opponent can see - and that’s dismissive of your opponent.

If that is what it was - we’ll, I don’t think that’s kind. I would just say that it seemed to me - at first - like a taunt. But now I don’t think it’s a taunt. I think he likes Foe a lot and wouldn’t do that. So I think I misjudged it. Maybe Novak did to.

But yeah - I hate stuff where it’s a boastful “rubbing salt in the wound” after a loss. And that’s how it struck me at first.

When Rafa says “VAMOS” or Roger pumped his fist or even cried - or when Novak looks to his box and roars (not my favorite anyway)- it never seems directed at the opponent.

That’s what I don’t want. A boast - like making muscle flexes - is already a big a turn off to me, like “look how great I am!” Or cupping the ear for applause. I hate that stuff. It’s happening more and. Kate and it’s just dignified to me. I think humility is good. You can still celebrate like crazy without it being a “look how awesome I am” moment.

But especially anything that’s intentionally right in your opponents face after you win as a “rub it in” - that’s what I would really hate. And that’s what Shelton seemed to do - as I first saw it.

I no longer do.

And in hindsight - even though I loved what Novak did at first cause I was ticked at what Shelton did to Foe - now I think maybe it was a mistake.

Maybe Novak took it wrong too. I wouldn’t be surprised.

Anyway - I’m glad to be challenged by your post.

Great reply - thank you. (And I find nothing that I disagree with, so I'll move on.)

 

[Incognito]

Shelton needs to improve all areas of his game and with a serve like that, he is someone you wouldn’t want to see in your draw. Also, I like the fact that he doesn’t care who he is playing against, he doesn’t get intimidated. I hope he serves 150mph body serve next time he plays Djokovic.

 

[ChrisJR3264]

he did make the semis of the uso and quarters of ao, not bad for first year on tour. for sure he's immature, but i'm all for cockiness out there. he does tend to celebrate opponent's misses pretty...enthusiastically, which is maybe a little off-putting, but overall...i mean, belief is step one so good to see he's got it.

and fwiw mentioned it a few times but his overall mechanics are pretty sound...backhand is solid, no hitches or whatever in the fh and has variety there, and willing to come to net and ok when he gets there.

His movement was suffering though

 

[ChrisJR3264]

Ben Shelton is that nfl Corner back who gets cooked by the receiver he’s guarding but the pass is incomplete due to an over throw - then gets up in the receivers face and taunts/celebrates

 

[NYTennisfan]

The hang up the phone celebration is fine if done when he accomplishes something. He was doing it when tying the 3rd set at 4 after getting demolished in the first two sets then he was letting out roars and throwing stares at Djokovic at various times late in the 3rd set. Djokovic had every right to mock him for that and I'm happy as hell that he did it, the kid needed a big slice of humble pie and Djokovic did it in a savage way. As far as the net exchange is concerned, why is Djokovic getting flak for it? Shelton barely even looked at him then walked away immediately. It was frosty from both sides.

Personally, I think some animosity and controversy in the sport is a good thing but this kid had it coming to him the way he acted in that match. He's really young so it's probably just a maturity thing but he needs to use some tact with these celebrations and he used it poorly in this match.