Tommy Paul shows support for Ben Shelton after he achieves major career milestone with top 10 breakthrough
Tommy Paul reacted to fellow American Ben Shelton's big milestone as he is all set to move into the top 10 of the ATP rankings for the first time in his career. Paul was in the running for the Roland Garros title, but lost to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz in the fourth round.
Shelton's French Open campaign was cut short after he faced defeat from Spaniard Alcaraz in the fourth round in three sets. He was next in action at the Boss Open, trouncing Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Jiri Lehecka to reach the semifinals against Alexander Zverev.
His effort in the quarterfinals catapulted him to the top 10 in the ATP rankings for the first time in his career. He entered as No. 12, but will climb two places when the rankings get updated on Monday, June 16. His fellow American player, Tommy Paul, who had a quarterfinal exit at the French Open, shared the news in his Instagram story and expressed pride in him with a US flag and a crocodile emoji.
In 2022, Ben Shelton began his journey as the No. 573 in the rankings, but his string of phenomenal performances propelled him to No. 96 by the end of the year. The following year, he made his first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the Australian Open and the semifinals at the US Open, besides winning his maiden ATP title at the Japan Open. His effort helped him reach the top 15 in the rankings on October 23, 2023.
In 2024, after his win at the US Men's Clay Court Championships, he replaced Taylor Fritz as the American No. 1.
Ben Shelton had his eyes glued to the screen when Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner battled it out in the Roland Garros final
Ben Shelton had a fourth round exit at the French Open. But he tuned in to the Roland Garros final and got especially hooked on the fifth set tie-break between the World No. 1 and the Spaniard.
During an episode of 2nd Serve (Tennis Channel), he spoke about his experience watching the final.
"The serve was a non-factor. They were putting the serve in the box and going to war. And I, it was really entertaining at the points that they were having. Every point, it was crazy. And for me, it was the tiebreaker that was the most insane."
He added:
"Those first six or seven points from Alcaraz, you go back in and you watch those. And that's some of the most clutch tennis I've seen at 6-all on the fifth in my life."
Ben Shelton will continue his grass court run in preparation for Wimbledon by playing at the HSBC Championships.