Jimmy Connors gives major advice to Ben Shelton on how to win his 1st Slam after Australian Open heartbreak
Jimmy Connors gave valuable advice to Ben Shelton on how to secure his first Grand Slam following his defeat in the recently concluded 2025 Australian Open. Apart from reaching the semifinals at the Melbourne Major this year, Shelton had also made it to the the final four at the 2023 US Open, where he was defeated by eventual champion Novak Djokovic.
Seeded 21st at the Australian Open, Shelton's campaign at the Australian Open came to an end in the semifinals after he lost to the top seed and eventual champion Jannik Sinner 6-7(2), 2-6, 2-6.
During a recent episode of the Advantage Connors podcast, Jimmy Connors offered advice to Ben Shelton aimed at helping him win big tournaments.
Connors said it was important for Shelton to find a "happy medium" that would enable him to win and improve. He also said that the World No. 14 needs to find "consistency" to avoid losing to players ranked below him.
“Yeah he should have confidence but he has to get a little more you know not that very high highs and the low lows. He has to kind of find his happy medium on what it takes to win and to improve on that as opposed to consistency. If he can find that consistency and try to avoid the losses to those that are quite a bit below him,” Connors said [30:09].
Jimmy Connors also noted Ben Shelton's tendency to elevate his game against top-ranked players, a skill which he said, the 22-year old must also apply when facing lower-ranked opponents.
“He can play against the guys that are above him, right? He gets up for that and raises his game but he’s got to walk out there and no matter who he plays he’s got to reach that as good as I can be level. If he can do that and find that consistency, then with the game that he has, the big game that he has, he should be okay,” Connors added.
Prior to his campaign at the 2025 Australian Open, Ben Shelton competed in the ASB Classic where he was the top seed. He began his campaign in the second round after a first-round bye and lost to Jakub Mensik 6-7(2), 6-4, 5-7.
A look into Ben Shelton's semifinals run at the 2025 Australian Open
![Ben Shelton at the 2025 Australian Open [Image Source: Getty Images]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/01/06b81-17382576806095-1920.jpg?w=500)
Ben Shelton kicked off his campaign at the 2025 Australian Open by defeating his compatriot Brandon Nakashima 7-6(3), 7-5, 7-5 in the first round. He next triumphed over Pablo Carreno Busta in the second round 6-3, 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-4.
The World No. 14 overcame 16th seed Lorenzo Musetti 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(5) in the third round. He secured his place in the quarterfinals after his fourth-round opponent Gael Monfils retired from their match during the fourth set with the score at 7-6(3), 6-7(3), 7-6(2), 1-0.
In the quarterfinal, Ben Shelton defeated Lorenzo Sonego 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(4). However, his campaign came to an end in the semifinals when he lost to defending champion Jannik Sinner. The Italian then went on to defeat the second seed Alexander Zverev in the final to claim his second Australian Open title and his third Grand Slam title overall.