By Amy Tennery
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Ben Shelton returns to Flushing Meadows with newfound confidence after claiming his biggest title and a career-high ranking two years after his charmed run to the U.S. Open semi-final.
Shelton outlasted Russian Karen Khachanov 6-7(5) 6-4 7-6(3) in a tough fight to secure his first 1000-level trophy in Toronto and hopes that the win will kick start a new level of consistency in his game.
“It’s certainly going to push me to work harder,” he said.
“I feel like I have a good grasp now on the things that really work for me against guys who are playing some of the best tennis in the world, and the things that I need to continue to work on.”
Eager to show this was no fluke, Shelton battled his way to a respectable quarter-final exit at Cincinnati, snapping a streak in which the last three Canadian Open champions had crashed out in their Cincinnati openers.
“I’m hungry. I’m in a good rhythm,” Shelton said after reaching the final eight at the U.S. Open tune-up tournament, where he would ultimately run out of gas against Alexander Zverev 6-2 6-2.
He arrived in New York ranked sixth in the world, a remarkable climb for the 22-year-old who had started the season outside the top 20 and who only two years ago was enjoying his moment of breakout stardom at his domestic major.
Shelton put the tennis world on notice when he muscled his way into the U.S. semi-finals at the age of 20, becoming the youngest American man to reach the penultimate round in Flushing Meadows since Michael Chang in 1992.
He subdued the competition with his extraordinary athleticism, sending over the fastest serve of the tournament at 149 miles per hour before crashing out to the eventual champion Novak Djokovic.
Shelton, who picked up his maiden ATP title a month later, has built finesse to match his power in the two years since and will hope to recreate the magic of his charmed 2023 run when he returns to New York.
“The more opportunities that you have, the more times you put yourself in the position to be playing against the best players in the world, you’re only going to get better,” he told reporters in Toronto.
“My tennis IQ and my tennis mind is something that is getting better, and something that needs to continue to get better.”
The U.S. Open main draw begins on Sunday.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New YorkEditing by Toby Davis)
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