Ben Shelton is playing a very good Australian Open this year and has reached the quarterfinals with full merit. The American ace's game is very well suited to this surface and the hard work done during the off-season is producing the first results.
Ben defeated Lorenzo Musetti in the third round and French veteran Gael Monfils in the round of 16, also taking advantage of the latter's retirement at the beginning of the fourth set. It's no secret that the American has a great chance of reaching the semifinals as he is the favorite in the upcoming match against Italy's Lorenzo Sonego.
The latter reached the quarterfinals in a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in his career and will have nothing to lose tomorrow, but there is no doubt that Ben will start as the favorite on such a fast surface.
Shelton has shown remarkable progresses in terms of mental strength and is intent on surprising everyone in this edition of the Happy Slam. He has already reached a Major semifinal, more precisely at the 2023 US Open, when he was defeated by Serbian legend Nole Djokovic.
Panatta takes a shot atShelton
Shelton's style is appreciated by many fans and insiders, as well as his attitude on the court. However, there are also those who do not appreciate his character. This is the case of Italian legend Adriano Panatta, who recently criticized the young American ace during a conversation with Paolo Bertolucci.
"I really want to talk about Shelton because I find him ugly, hateful and vulgar" - said Panatta. "He plays in a jersey that you can't really look at. Every time he makes a lot of dramas on the court, it's unbearable and I've never seen anyone so vulgar on a tennis court. What are Shelton's weapons? He only has a nice servant. The rest is vulgarity" - added Adriano.
Panatta was not kind to the American player, who has already defeated an Italian tennis player during this edition of the AO (Lorenzo Musetti). Sonego will try to avenge his compatriot and reach his first Grand Slam semifinal.
