Frances Tiafoe shared an honest insight into his relationship with close friend and on-court rival Ben Shelton in the latest episode of the Changeover podcast. Both Shelton and Tiafoe are currently in Houston, preparing for the ATP 250 event, the only clay-court tournament on U.S. soil.
During his chat with podcast hosts Jody Maginley and Justin Roberts, Tiafoe was asked about his connection with Shelton and how their relationship has evolved on the ATP circuit over the past few years.
The former World No. 10 also mentioned that while he considers Shelton a good friend, they always remain competitive during their on-court matches. “You know I can’t part-time, it is. Ben is my guy. So, everything he has been doing, but yeah, we play with each other. He’ll say he’s walking play when he was younger,” Tiafoe said.
“It’s a crazy thing about, and you know now we’re playing in big stages, and we are leading the game, and people of color, and it’s crazy. It’s what you being American, his dad also played a great role in a great story, and I have a totally different story. But not even being of color, like I just don’t want to lose to his a** and doesn’t want to lose against me,” he added.
So, when we play, it’s great matches because we’re both good for each other, but at the same time, we have crazy love for each other. We’ll do that, and then a couple of weeks later, we’re like, yo, you want to go? If we’re in the same city, let’s go to the games and dinner. I mean, we FaceTime all the time and just talk about b******* you know. He’s a good fellow,” Tiafoe concluded.
Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe Are the Top Two Seeds at the Houston Open
Shelton and Tiafoe will be joined by an array of fellow American pros at the Houston Open, which commenced on Monday. Shelton is seeded first for the event, while Tiafoe is second, and they both will play their opening match of the tournament on Tuesday.
Both Shelton and Tiafoe are past champions in Houston, with the former winning in 2024 and the latter in 2023. Shelton begins her quest in the round of 16 against Zhang Zhizhen, while Tiafoe’s round of 16 opponent is yet to be decided.
After the Houston Open, Tiafoe will head to Monte Carlo for the Masters 1000 event, while Shelton will skip traveling to Monaco and later resume play in Munich.
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