"I am in a press conference dad" - Ben Shelton hilariously answers his father Bryan's call following US Open 3R loss against Frances Tiafoe
Ben Shelton hilariously answered a call from his father, Bryan, during a press conference following his third-round loss to Frances Tiafoe at the ongoing US Open. Last year, Shelton had reached the semifinals of the New York Slam before falling to eventual champion Novak Djokovic.
This year, the21-year-old was seeded 13th, and he began his campaign by defeating former US Open champion Dominic Thiem 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 in the first round. He then triumphed over Roberto Bautista Agut 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in the second. However, his journey at Flushing Meadows ended in the third round when he lost to compatriot and 20th seed Frances Tiafoe 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(5), 4-6, 3-6.
After his defeat to Tiafoe, Shelton's phone rang during the post-match press conference. It was his father, Bryan, on the line. The two had a quick chat before Shelton hung up, sharing a laugh about the unexpected interruption with the reporters.
"Who's blowing up my phone? Hey I am in a press conference dad. Okay, yeah, I'll be out in a couple of minutes. Bye," Shelton said.
Leading up to the New York Major, Ben Shelton had participated in four hard court tournaments. At the 2024 Atlanta Open, he was the top seed but lost to qualifier Juncheng Shang 6-7(6), 4-6 in the opening round. He then competed at the Mubadala Citi DC Open, where he defeated Radu Albot, Brandon Nakashima, and Denis Shapovalov before falling to Flavio Cobolli 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 in the semifinals.
At the Canadian Open, the 21-year-old defeated Alexander Bublik in the first round but was defeated by the eventual champion, Alexei Popyrin, 4-6, 6-7(4) in the second round. At the Cincinnati Open, Shelton triumphed over players like Reilly Opelka, Tomas Martin Etcheverry, and Fabian Marozsan before losing 6-3, 6-7(3), 5-7 to Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals.
Ben Shelton on having his father Bryan on tour with him: “We started working really well together”
![Ben Shelton's watches his son on court [Image via Getty]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/08/e1092-17251171126377-1920.jpg?w=500)
Last month, during a press conference, Ben Shelton talked about having his father, Bryan, accompany him on tour. Shelton stated that he and Bryan share a good professional relationship and that they work really well together.
Shelton revealed that Bryan, who previously served as his coach in college, adopted a strict approach to avoid any potential accusations of favoritism.
“We started working really well together when we got out here on tour. He was obviously my coach in college and that was tough because there are 11 other guys on the team. I’m the coach's son, so he has to show that there’s no favoritism, which I understand,” Shelton said. (via TennisLegends)
The World No. 13 explained that while he understood his father's strict approach, he admitted that it was sometimes challenging and created additional pressure.
“But also I’m running more sprints than everyone else when I do something wrong or show up late. I’m getting chewed out for more. If I lose a match it’s a bigger deal than everyone else (smiling),” he added.
Bryan Shelton coached his son Ben, while the latter was playing for the Florida Gators. In 2023, Bryan joined Ben's team full-time.