American tennis sensation Ben Shelton is not settling for simply making No. 20 in the ATP rankings – and instead is aiming for titles rather than merely rising the ranks. The youngster shot up 28 spots to 19th on the list after reaching the US Open semifinals before losing in straight sets to the new world No. 1 Novak Djokovic.
Shelton, who celebrated his 21st birthday Monday, has gone from strength to strength since New York despite dropping a place below Bulgaria’s Dimitrov Grigor late last month. As part of Team World at the Laver Cup, he went 3-0 and won a team-high six points as an American-heavy outfit scored a dominant 13-2 win over Team Europe.
Now back on the ATP Tour at the Shanghai Masters, Shelton is through to an all-American quarter-final against Sebastian Korda after coming from a set down to beat world No. 6 Jannik Sinner 2-6, 6-3, 7-6. Out in China, he refused to limit his ambitions as far as rankings are concerned.
“I try to compartmentalize and not think about those things as much,” he told reporters. “Obviously, being in the Top 20 is something new to me.
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“I’m really looking forward to being able to move forward, have an impact, and continue to improve and make my mark again.
He continued: “Whenever I try to put a number I’m trying to reach, it’s almost like putting a ceiling on myself or a limit. I don’t know where I want to be in the rankings. I’m not thinking about that as much.
“A goal is showing up to tournaments and competing for titles. So if I can get to the place where week in, week out, I’m in the running for winning titles – that’s something that I’ll be pleased with.”
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Shelton has taken tennis by storm, courting considerable criticism during that time because of his on-court antics. However, he remains unaffected by any complaints.
“Every little thing that you do, even if it’s not out of control – you don’t need to be swearing or breaking racquets – is looked down upon in tennis,” Shelton said in an interview with GQ.
“If I win a big point and I’m screaming… people will say something. ‘He celebrates too hard. He is out of control. Be humble.’” Shelton remains unphased about the attention from all corners.
“I’m not a guy who gets frightened or scared by comments on social media,” he said during the US Open. “When people are saying negative things about me, that just drives me. It’s not something that I ever worry about.
“If I go to sleep at night thinking about it, it’s more anger than me being sad. That helps me get out of bed and go to work every single day, working hard to get to where I want to be.
“I like seeing those comments sometimes or messages or doubters. I think that it’s something that helps fuel me.”
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