By Richard Pagliaro | @TennisNow | Monday, January 20, 2025
Photo: ROLEX
Cheering for Gael Monfils gave a new one Ben Shelton the shivers.
Facing his tennis hero for the first time at the Australian Open sent chills through Shelton.
More: Sinner and Cahill will part ways after 2025
The 22-year-old Shelton led Monfils 7-6 (3), 6-7 (3), 7-6 (2), 1-0 when the 38-year-old Frenchman withdrew from their AO fourth-round match due to for a back injury after two hours and 57 minutes of physical play.
The left-handed Shelton snapped his hero’s eight-match winning streak a round after an inspired Monfils upset the US Open finalist. Taylor Fritz in a brilliant win in the third round.
The experience gave Shelton the “goosegarge.”
Shelton then said that playing the entertaining Monfils is challenging because it’s a journey of emotional extremes: from fan to fierce competitor.
“It’s always difficult. The little kid in me always wants to see the Gaels win,” Shelton told media in Melbourne. “I always want to see him hit the lead shot and the trick shot.
“It’s like players always get angry when the crowd is against them or not for them, but honestly all I could do today was appreciate the fans who got behind him. It was just a cool moment for me to be a part of. They were definitely cheering me, pretty much the whole stadium, but it’s the kind of thing that gives you kicks, things you live for.”
This was their first professional meeting, but Monfils and Shelton share a bond and mutual admiration.
21-year-old Shelton revealed that after his run to the AO 2023 quarter-finals, when he faced an 11-game first-round loss during a desperate match, it was an encouraging Monfils who gave him a “quick pep talk ” and also shared a valuable piece of advice. .
Monfils, who had a streak of reaching at least one ATP final for 19 straight years, told Shelton a major reason he’s stayed so energized and engaged with the game is that he’s figured out which tournaments he really likes to play and plans his schedule around those events where he is most comfortable.
“It was that 2023 run where I lost a lot of matches in a row or lost early in a lot of tournaments in a row,” Shelton said. “He told me, like, you know, it was important for him in his career that he found the places where he liked to play, and he focused on those weeks and doing really well in those weeks and knowing that he has places where he doesn’t like to play and not stress so much.
“That’s how he’s been able to keep his love for the sport, and you’re seeing it. He is still entertaining crowds at the age of 38, which is remarkable.
“Obviously he’s done it in a way where he can still love it and enjoy it. It’s long seasons. It’s certainly an easy sport to get burned out. It’s an individual sport, it’s not like you have a team that can handle the weakness if you’re a vet and can play fewer minutes.No, you have to be there for every point.
Facing Monfils’ phenomenal athleticism and pulsating theatrics is also a mental test, Shelton said.
Magic Monfili can radiate such good vibes, Shelton said it can lull you into a false sense of relaxation. The French’s supple body language can be deceiving. Seeing Monfils bent at the waist and taking deep breaths isn’t always a sign of fatigue — sometimes it’s a set-up, Shelton said.
“It’s something you enjoy, but you try to suppress it while you’re playing to stay focused,” Shelton said. “He’s a guy when you start getting into it and you’re smiling the whole game. Then, oh, wow, I’m down two sets? It was blown by me.
“So he’s definitely a guy you have to stay locked in. I think one of the things he does best as well, which is obviously he wasn’t quite 100% today and towards the end of the game with really fired up but sometimes he looks really tired and you can serve him and he’s got his hands on his knees and then you serve a bomb wide and he reflexes it and he’s in the corner and it goes past you.
“You’re like, ahh, I fell for the trap. It’s kind of a tricky back and forth. Obviously, this is his way of dealing with being tired in a court. But he plays it sometimes, and I think, like, he has more in the tank than he sometimes shows. “
2023 US Open semi-finalist Shelton will face the 55th-ranked Italian Lorenzo Sonego for a semi-final spot.
Poor Sonego has been a human killer in Oz. Sonego started the tournament by defeating Stan Wawrinka, then knocked out Brazilian sensation Joao Fonseca after overturning qualifying. Andrey Rublev before jumping the talented 19-year-old American qualifier Your student out of the fourth round.
“For me it’s a sense of urgency,” Shelton said of his quest to reach a major final. “I know that, OK, to get here, you might have done some really good things and played some great tennis, but there’s a whole new match in front of you, and if somebody’s in the quarterfinals or the semifinals, they are close. at their best.”
