‘Akesten’- Sherton combines wins and losses as he ends his best season – Tennis now
Although Ben Shelton has dropped his first two matches at the ATP Finals in Turin, the American can still look back on what has been his best season as a professional when it all comes down to it this week.
Shelton, who made his top 5 tours this year (last Monday), and made his ATP Finals this week, as the youngest American to enter the field since Andy Roddick in 2004.
And then there is enough. Shelton joins Rafael Nadal and Jack Draper as one of three men to crack the ATP’s Top 5 since the turn of the century – an incredible feat
There’s a lot going on for Shelton, who’s still only 23, and it looks like he’s not going to be there right now. Crazy as it sounds, Shelton is the 17th lefty to never reach the top 5 atp rankings, dating back to 1973.
Could Shelton one day be No.6?
At the moment, he has a strong desire to end his season with a win in Turin.
Asked to measure his time, Shelton seemed to find that there was no narrative missing from his game, without saying much.
“I think if I were to rate it 1 to 10, it would probably be an 8 out of 10, a 7 or an 8,” he said. “I made a lot of improvement and improved from last year.”
Shelton, who suffered a major disappointment in the 2025 major when he had to withdraw in the third round of the Open with a shoulder injury, admits he hasn’t found his game since.
“What I’ve done for the kind of open shipping I’ve never been happy with,” he said. “But the free rhythm in the first three quarters of the year was really good.”
Sherton found his line in the summer of that period of time that saw him win his first masters 1000 title in Toronto, and reach another great season in the Australian open.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-v9yffrzm
“I’m a guy who gets into a really good groove when I play a lot of sports,” he said. “I had a lot of clarity this summer about how I played: Rejuvenation was shot, what shots to play at certain times on the court, how I was going to be successful, my winning formula. I’m still looking for that little bit right now.”
Shelton reiterated that he is not firing on all cylinders this month, and expressed disappointment in the current state of his predecessor after falling to Felix Auger-Aliassme in three tight sets on Wednesday.
“These last four competitions of the year – Shanghai, Basel, Paris, [London] – It was very difficult for me to try to find out that all the guys I have rotted were in shape and playing tennis well, “it just says certain things he feels,” it just says certain things, it can’t happen.
“For me this week, it was the advance, which usually drives me away, the money maker. The first ball after being served, the worst things that make it disappointing”
Sherton’s biggest issue on paper is his performance against the top 3. He is down to 0 lifetimes. He will have a chance to create his biggest career Win Win when he faces Jannik dinner in his final round robin on Friday.
No matter what happens, Shelton will continue his work to improve all aspects, while allowing the victory to come to him.
“For me it’s back to work regardless of how things end here,” he said. “Be proud of the season I had and the things I accomplished. Let things show that I was not able to achieve and that I was just motivated for the next year.”
