"Ben Shelton is fun to watch, fun to play against; he's incredibly nice and just a really great guy all around" - Sebastian Korda
American tennis player Sebastian Korda heaped praises on Ben Shelton after their pulsating quarterfinal match at the ongoing Shanghai Open. Korda prevailed 6-7, 6-2, 7-6, and stormed into his maiden ATP 1000 semifinals.
After beating World No. 3 Daniil Medvedev in the round of 32, Korda was at his best as he made short work of Shelton. He will meet 16th seed Hubert Hurkacz in the semifinals.
Speaking at a press conference after the match, Korda said Shelton is an incredible player and is fun to watch and play against. He said (h/t ATP):
"He's [Shelton] an incredible player, he's electric, he's fun to watch. He's fun to play against, honestly. I had a lot of fun during the match today. Honestly, just shows also the type of person that he is. He's incredibly nice, always has a smile on his face, and just a really great guy all around."
Being compatriots, it was also easy for the players to know each other well. The World No. 26 said the duo started to know each other really well in the last couple of months and share a great relationship together. He added:
"It was definitely a really good moment. Ben's a really good guy. He's got a great family. We've started to know each other really well these past couple months. We have a great relationship together. We played doubles one time, will definitely play again in the future."
After the match, the duo had an embrace at the net and Sebastian Korda revealed that they spoke about the tie-breaker. The 23-year-old American concluded:
"I think we just talked about the tie-break and we were just kind of laughing."
Ben Shelton requests chair umpire to allow Sebastian Korda to challenge call
In an exemplary display of sportsmanship, Ben Shelton requested the chair umpire to allow Sebastian Korda to challenge a call after the umpire did not take notice of his appeal.
Shelton, who fired 17 aces in the match, served one wide that was out of Korda's reach and while Korda wanted to challenge the call, his appeal wasn't heard by the chair umpire.
The chair umpire was heard telling Korda:
"I didn't hear you. You have to make it loud or wave at me."
Displaying utmost sportsmanship, Shelton approached the chair and asked the umpire to allow Korda to review. The umpire then changed his decision and allowed the review. with Sebastian Korda subsequently losing the point and the challenge.