Ben Shelton's sister Emma shows her support after American's impressive win against Stan Wawrinka at Swiss Indoors Basel
Ben Shelton received support from his younger sister, Emma Shelton, after his win against Stan Wawrinka at the Swiss Indoors Basel. The tournament commenced on October 19 and will conclude on October 27, 2024.
Shelton has advanced to the quarterfinals of the Swiss Indoors on October 24, 2024, after his showdown against Wawrinka in round two of the tournament. The American gracefully nabbed the win in the opponent's home country with a score of 7(7)-6(2), 7-5. This was his second successive win over the three-time Grand Slam champion.
Ahead of this match, he experienced a controversial win against Tomas Martin Etcheverry, where he bagged the win with a score of 6-3, 6-4.
Following this dominant win, the player received support from his younger sister, Emma Shelton, who re-shared a post by the ATP tour on her Instagram story, which carried a video of her brother's win against Wawrinka.
After qualifying to the quarterfinals, Shelton reflected on his win and admitted that he was struggling to return his serve and also exuded pride on how he defended his break points.
"I thought I was just tough in the big moments," said Ben Shelton, as quoted by Tennis.com. "There was a lot of challenges out there today, but I thought he played a really good match. The crowd was really into it, obviously, behind their guy. I was struggling to return his serve, and I thought he put the ball in some tricky positions. I was happy with the way I defended my break points, and being clutch in the big moments is what won me the match today."
Ben Shelton complimented Stan Wawrinka after beating him in Basel
Ben Shelton complimented Stan Wawrinka on being the oldest man to win at the Swiss Indoors after the latter's first-round win against Adrian Mannarino in the post-match interview. He lauded the 39-year-old for having a lot of experience in the sport.
"We were joking in the locker room before the match that he’s been on tour as much as I’ve lived... He’s got a lot of experience and a lot of love around the world. He’s done incredible things for our sport. Especially here in Switzerland. You can tell with the fan support today," Ben Shelton said.
He added:
"I had to smile at times today because obviously it’s against me but it’s so cool to see a country and tournament get behind a guy like that who’s been such an icon. Shout out to Stan. I don’t think I’m still gonna be out here winning matches at 39."
After defeating Stan Wawrinka, Ben Shelton will next face top seed Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals of the Swiss Indoors. The Russian booked his place in the last eight of the ATP 500 event after beating Alejandro Tabilo 7-6(3), 6-1. Rublev and Shelton will lock horns for the very first time, with the winner of the match facing either third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas or seventh seed Arthur Fils in the semifinals.