You saw Novak Djokovic do it, Lorenzo Musetti, Fabio Fognini, Achraf Hakimi: Ben Shelton elated by his signature celebration taking over sports world
Ben Shelton first debuted his 'hanging up the phone' celebration at the US Open, and since then, it has spread like wildfire in tennis and the sporting world beyond.
Ever since the young American 'hung up' Frances Tiafoe's stay at the US Open in the quarterfinal, many of Shelton's fellow tennis players and athletes in other sports have adopted the celebration. World No. 1 Novak Djokovic did it after beating Shelton to make it to the US Open final.
Moreover, Lorenzo Musetti marked his win at the Davis Cup Finals by hanging up the phone. So did Fabio Fognini after winning his semifinal match at the Genoa Challenger in September. Fognini's gesture was believed to be directed at Italian Davis Cup team captain Filippo Volandri, who didn't call up the veteran for Italy's Davis Cup tie against Sweden.
Ben Shelton's celebration has even reached the soccer world, as Paris Saint-Germain defender Achraf Hakimi was seen doing it during one of his matches. Shelton has opened up about the popularization of his signature celebration, saying he is happy to see all these top athletes do it. The 20-year-old has become a social media sensation thanks to the celebration, and he finds all this attention "pretty funny."
"You saw Djokovic do it, you saw Musetti do it, you saw Fognini do it. The guys at Laver Cup were doing it whenever I won a big point. It's even gone outside the sport I saw, was it Hakimi? Maybe the footballer. I think he did it in one of his games, And I'm getting tagged on social media all the time, people win a game or win a match and they're doing this and hanging up the phone. I mean, it's pretty funny for me," Ben Shelton said.
Ben Shelton to face Juame Munar at Shanghai Masters
Ben Shelton is set to begin his first-ever tournament in China as he will face Jaume Munar in the second round of the Shanghai Masters on October 6. Shelton is seeded No. 19 at the ATP 1000 tournament and received a bye in the first round. The young American has struggled at every ATP 1000-tournament he has faced so far, not progressing beyond the second round.
However, this time around, he is in the form of his young career. He will play in China after beating Arthur Fils at the Laver Cup and reaching his first-ever Grand Slam semifinal at the US Open. Shelton defeated Pedro Cachin, former US Open champion Dominic Theim, Arslan Karatsev, Tommy Paul, and Frances Tiafoe before losing to eventual champion Djokovic.
As a result, he has entered the top 20 of the ATP rankings for the first time in his career, currently at World No. 19. Shelton struggled to find form and consecutive wins this year after his surprise quarterfinal run at the Australian Open. He broke that curse in New York and would hope to ride that confidence in China.