The Italian ace has beaten his opponent six times, winning the tournament on four of those occasions (including two Slams). But Big Ben warns: “I’m playing the best tennis I’ve played since my injury.”
His index finger close to his ear and the usual invitation to turn up the volume. Ben Shelton knocked out Rublev and then celebrated in front of the Defense Arena. Double celebration: not only the quarter-finals at the Paris Masters 1000, but above all a ticket to the Finals in Turin. The first in his career. In 2025, Big Ben said Start: he entered the top 10 for good, won the first 1000 of his life (in Toronto) and made his way in the Slams. A semifinal in Melbourne, a quarterfinal at Wimbledon. Before being stopped, in both cases, by Sinner: Jannik is also waiting for him in the quarterfinals in Paris now.
The least fortunate Slam was undoubtedly the next one, the US Open: Shelton arrived at Flushing Meadows among the favorites, but his shoulder betrayed him. He was forced to withdraw: “I usually always play, even if I’m not feeling well. This time I couldn’t do it, and I just want to cry.” It was a bitter withdrawal from the third round against Mannarino, which forced him to stay away from the circuit for several weeks. He returned in Shanghai, but Goffin knocked him out immediately. He needed new consistency in his results to dispel the clouds of injury and, above all, to secure his place in the Finals: he succeeded in Paris, first beating Cobolli and then Rublev. And thus unleashing his joy: “I played the best tennis since my injury. I’m back to the level I was at in the summer before the US Open.”
with sinner at wimbledon— Speaking of the summer. Before Toronto, Ben’s serve was no match for Sinner’s power. The Italian cruised to a straight-sets victory at Wimbledon, with the American admitting after the match: “The speed of the ball with him is really incredible. I’ve never seen anything like it: when you play against him, it seems like everything is going at twice the speed.” Even a supersonic player like Ben can be stopped in his tracks. But in 2026, he will be back in contention for the Slam. As at the last Australian Open: Ben beat Sonego in the quarterfinals before learning a lesson from Sinner in the semifinals: “In Australia, I didn’t serve at the same level as my opponent,” he said at the press conference. In Paris, he will try to learn from his two defeats and improve on his current record of 6-1 against Jannik.
amulet— Shelton’s technical analysis? Sinner provided it a year and a half ago at Indian Wells, before their third meeting: “He serves well, he has a great hand. He plays well with his forehand and backhand. And then he’s left-handed…” Back in 2024, Ben was already being talked about as a possible contender for the third spot alongside Jannik and Carlos: he has achieved his first major results in recent months, except against Sinner. In fact, he has found a kind of lucky charm in the American: of his six victories against Shelton, four have led him to win the title. This happened in Vienna (2023), Shanghai (2024), and especially in the two Slams he won this year. Curiously, Ben won his first match against Sinner two years ago in Shanghai. The problem is that since then, the Italian has not conceded a single set to him. Big Ben now wants to say Stop.
