From The Beatles to Coldplay: Andy Murray, Ben Shelton, Grigor Dimitrov and others name their greatest musicians of all time
The ATP Tour recently put tennis stars including Andy Murray, Ben Shelton, and Grigor Dimitrov on the spot to name their greatest musicians of all time.
It happened on the sidelines of the recently-concluded Miami Open 2024, where Jannik Sinner prevailed over everyone to claim his third title of the season.
Sinner notably went first and named British musician and singer-songwriter Seal, who is a four-time Grammy Award winner.
Andy Murray found the task arduous but went with the legendary rock band The Beatles.
"It's a tough question that… The Beatles," Murray said.
Grigor Dimitrov's choices were The Weekend and the Backstreet Boys whereas Stefanos Tsitsipas went for Coldplay.
Among the others, Alex de Minaur named Oasis while Denis Shapovalov's preferences were The Beatles and Queen. Andrey Rublev picked the heavy-metal band from the US, Motley Crue whereas Alejandro Davidovich Fokina's pick was late record producer and DJ, Avicii.
Ben Shelton named Jon Bon Jovi as his greatest musician of all time. Incidentally, Bon Jovi attended the Miami Open and met Shelton. The 62-year-old also participated in the ATP Tour's trivial survey and said:
"Paul McCartney and The Beatles."
At this, Shelton hilariously asked the host to tell Bon Jovi about who he picked.
"Tell him who I said on that question," Shelton quipped.
"Ben Shelton! Love it, ladies and gentlemen," Jon said after finding out that he was Shelton's pick.
Notably, Cameron Norrie also named Jon Bon Jovi as the greatest.
Ben Shelton: "Jon Bon Jovi gave me advice just on life and being out here as a professional"
Shelton reflected on his meeting with Jon Bon Jovi at the Miami Open 2024 in a conversation he later held with the ATP Tour. He revealed being counseled by Jon during their brief interaction.
"It's always crazy whenever you get to meet a legend in whatever field they are in. So it was cool to meet him and realize how down-to-earth he is. He gave me a few good pointers, advice just on life and being out here as a professional. Creation of ideas, that type of thing," Ben Shelton said.
Shelton reached the third round at the Miami Open, where he lost 6-4, 7-6(5) to 23rd seed Lorenzo Musetti. The American then competed at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships in Houston as the top seed and reached the final following wins over Zizou Bergs, Brandon Nakashima and Tomas Martin Etcheverry. Here, he beat Frances Tiafoe 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 to win his first title ofn the 2024 season.
Shelton's exploits in Houston saw him attain a new career-high ranking of World No. 14. The American did not compete at the ongoing Monte-Carlo Masters.