Practicing with Rafael Nadal on Rod Laver Arena an "unreal experience," says Ben Shelton ahead of his Australian Open debut
Rafael Nadal engaged in a practice session on the court on Sunday ahead of the Australian Open and accompanying him was young sensation Ben Shelton.
Shelton, aged 20, has made a tremendous rise up the ranks over the last season. He was ranked No. 573 at the start of 2022 and since then has gone on to win three ATP Challenger Tour titles. He now sits at the No. 89 spot and sees himself training with the legendary Spaniard as the player makes it to his first ever Grand Slam Down Under.
The Tennis Channel took to social media on Sunday to share a clip of the practice session that involved Shelton and Nadal as they went on to reflect on the monumentary rise of the young American.
"One year ago, @BenShelton was ranked #569 and getting ready for his sophomore season with @GatorsMTN. Now he is practicing on Rod Laver Arena with @RafaelNadal ahead of his #AusOpen debut," they wrote in their tweet.
One year ago, @BenShelton was ranked #569 and getting ready for his sophomore season with @GatorsMTN.
Now he is practicing on Rod Laver Arena with @RafaelNadal ahead of his #AusOpen debut 🔥 https://t.co/9RTYy3kFV3
Mirroring the massive moment, Shelton conveyed that it was an "unreal experience" practicing alongside the 22-time Grand Slam champion.
"Pretty mental. Unreal experience," the 20-year-old tweeted.
Pretty mental 🤯. Unreal experience. twitter.com/tennischannel/…
Ben Shelton will face World No. 96 Zhang Zhizhen in the first round of the Australian Open on Tuesday. It will be the first meeting between the two on tour.
Meanwhile, the Spaniard is set to commence his title defense on Monday as he faces Jack Draper in the first round.
Rafael Nadal hopes to "just fight for victories" in Australian Open 2023 as player acknowledges recent drop in form
Rafael Nadal feels that he has to "just fight for victories" at this year's Australian Open and that he has to live with the recent losses and drop in form.
Speaking to the press ahead of the tournament, Nadal conveyed that he will try to fight for wins on the court just as he did at the Melbourne Major last year.
"Of course, we can talk about things that happen last year, all the situations that I had faced. But the real thing is I have been losing more than usual. Yeah, that's the true. I need to live with it and just fight for the victories, no?," expressed the 36-year-old.
While the Spaniard admits that the results off late were sub-standard, he is not disappointed with his performances. The player believes that in his losses against Alex de Minaur and Cameron Norrie at the United Cup, he did not play badly and that there were a lot of opportunities to steer the matches his way.
"By the way, I didn't play that bad the first two matches the year. I lost against two great opponents, but having very positive chances to win both matches," he asserted.