Ben Shelton has continued his strong run of form into the Cincinnati Open, where he is now into the third round.
Shelton withdrew from the Cincinnati Open doubles, but meets Roberto Bautista Agut in the singles event after knocking out Camilo Ugo Carabelli.
American star Shelton is the fifth seed at the ATP Masters 1000 event, which he entered after winning the Canadian Open.
Shelton loved his Canadian Open displays, which culminated in a 6-7(5-7), 6-4, 7-6(7-3) final win over Karen Khachanov.
He currently occupies a career-high ranking of sixth, and is finding the perfect form ahead of the US Open.
Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty ImagesBen Shelton praised for leading Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic in key area
And his rapid rise has caught the eye of former player Steve Johnson, who is full of excitement for his fellow American.
He said on the Nothing Major Show: “It is remarkable. He is insane. His growth on the tennis court! You see him every few months and there is another piece of his game which is getting better or there is a hole that is getting shorter.
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“It was a year ago or two, that maybe his backhand is going to let him down and now you watch him play these matches and it might let him down for a game or two but over the course of a match or tournament he is getting better and better.
“He is an athlete. His physicality I want to say is unmatched on Tour. I know [Jannik] Sinner and [Carlos] Alcaraz and Novak [Djokovic] are in incredible shape, but just walking around and seeing him at the courts these weeks here in Cincinnati.
“He is built like a truck! I have not seen him for a year or so, since we have been in the locker room. But he is physically insane.
“So you know he is going to be ready week in and week out, that’s why I have always thought he has done well at Slams, because his physicality takes over.
Photo by Mert Alper Dervis/Anadolu via Getty Images
“But this last week in tournament he has won two matches six in the third and another 7-5 in the third. You feel as if that part of the game is unteachable to a degree. He is clutch. When he gets to these big moments it does not feel like he flinches.
“It’s hard to tell because we are not playing against him and you don’t feel that in person but watching him on TV and watching him in person, he gets to these big moments and you just feel he is going to slowly take care of business and everything slows down.
“If you don’t have that, you can’t win. Some of the best of all time have that gene and he has that. He is still young and he is still going to get better and better and better. He is not even close to his peak of his tennis yet.”
Ben Shelton ATP titles after Canadian Open success
Shelton really does have the world at his feet at this moment in time, and is certain to continue improving given he is just 22 years old.
He’s now a three-time champion on the ATP Tour, having also lost two finals in his fantastic and relatively brief career so far.
But perhaps the real test of his ability and indeed character will arrive at the US Open given just how much he will come under the spotlight.
The American has already impressed in his home Grand Slam, making it all the way to the semifinals in 2023.
YearTitlesTournaments20251ATP Masters 1000 Canada (Outdoor/Hard)20241Houston (Outdoor/Clay)20231Tokyo (Outdoor/Hard)Ben Shelton ATP titles
A similar run will now be targeted at Flushing Meadows this time around, and that can be expected given his major year so far.
After reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open, the world number six reached the fourth round and quarterfinals of the French Open and Wimbledon respectively.