WATCH: Taylor Fritz & Ben Shelton pleasantly surprised by 'milk soda'; Tommy Paul, Grigor Dimitrov explore new flavors as ATP stars try Korean snacks
Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton, Tommy Paul, Grigor Dimitrov and other ATP stars recently broadened their culinary horizons by sampling a variety of Korean snacks. Although one snack was already known to the players, they explored new flavors in the others.
During the Queen's Club Championships, Holger Rune and Karen Khachanov joined the aforementioned four players in tasting various Korean foods, starting out with Saewoo Khang, a shrimp snack.
Taylor Fritz was immediately apprehensive, disclosing his hatred for seafood, but admitted that he found the taste tolerable despite the off-putting "fishy" aroma.
"I hate seafood. I'm gonna be honest guys, this one is gonna be rough," Fritz said. "It's not as bad as I thought it was gonna be because it doesn't taste as fishy as I guess, when I opened the bag, I got that whiff.
Dimitrov also mentioned it tasted better than it smelled, while Shelton, Paul, Rune and Khachanov all gave it their stamps of approval, with the average rating being a six out of 10.
Next, they tried 'Chocopies,' which Dimitrov and Khachanov recognized from their home countries. Meanwhile, the Americans identified it as a 'Moonpie' in the US.
"I think this is a little better than a Moonpie though," Shelton said.
The snack evoked nostalgic childhood memories for the players, with both Rune and Khachanov giving it a nine out of 10.
"Brings back childhood memories," Tommy Paul said.
"In Russia, in my childhood time at school, between every class this was like classic," Khachanov reminisced.
Up next, the players tried 'Milkis,' described as a milky soda concoction. While Holger Rune admitted that he wasn't a fan of the unique combination, Ben Shelton, Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul were pleasantly surprised by the taste.
"Actually, surprisingly pretty good. It does kind of taste like a milk soda," Shelton said.
"I like that, it's really good. It's pretty mild, the flavor isn't overpowering. I'm American, our sodas are very syrupy," Taylor Fritz said.
The Queen's Club Championships came to an end with Tommy Paul clinching the ATP 500 title, claiming a 6-1, 7-6(8) win over Lorenzo Musetti in the final.
Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul set to compete in Eastbourne ahead of Wimbledon 2024; Ben Shelton continues grass preparation at Mallorca Championships
With his triumph at the Queen's Club Championships, Tommy Paul replaced Taylor Fritz as the American No. 1 in the ATP rankings by achieving a career-high ranking of World No. 12.
The fierce battle for the American No. 1 spot will continue at the Rothesay International in Eastbourne as Fritz and Paul enter the ATP 250 event as the first and second seeds, respectively.
Making their final stop before the Wimbledon Championships, Fritz awaits James McCabe or Thiago Seyboth Wild in the second round, while Paul will square off against the winner of the match between Billy Harris and Jacob Fearnley.
Ben Shelton, meanwhile, will continue his preparations for the grasscourt Major at the Mallorca Championships, taking on Luca Nardi or Rinky Hijikata in his opening match.