In the next round of the Australian Open, Ben Shelton will face Valentin Vacherot, the Monegasque tennis player who excelled last year and also shocked the public with his victory at the Shanghai Masters.
After that victory, many doors opened for him, who will now face a serious challenge.
In an interview with the media, Ben Shelton pointed out that he had previously faced Vacherot during college, but also on the ATP Challenger Tour, and that he knows his qualities well.
The American tennis player is aware that in tennis there are small nuances between some top-ranked and perhaps lower-ranked tennis players, stressing that tennis is mostly a mental game.
“Yeah, I think it just shows that, you know, the game of tennis is very mental, and the level difference between guys who are playing challengers to the top of the world, it’s not massive,” Shelton said.
“I played him in one of the early challengers I played, and we had an absolute war. I think I beat him 5 or 6 in the third. Even since he was in college, he’s always been a problem.
I’m not shocked to see him, you know, in the top 100 and having great results on the tour. I think that he has a lot of weapons. I think he’s great physically. I think he’s a tough competitor. Yeah, I think it’s a great third-round matchup."
What can we expect from their match?
Vacherot is also aware of the danger that awaits him, mostly because he knows that Shelton has impressed in this tournament before.
Vacherot, on the other hand, received a huge injection of confidence after the victory in Shanghai and seems to want to use this momentum to further progress.
Ben Shelton was considered one of the main favorites before the start of the Australian Open, and it seems that he is looking to fulfill the expectations of fans and the public and achieve a positive result at this tournament.
