World No. 9 Ben Shelton survived a scare against Frenchman Adrian Mannarino in their round of 16 clash at the Dallas Open on Thursday. Shelton, who competed in both singles and doubles at the tournament, has a chance to bury his demons from the Australian Open by winning his maiden silverware of the season on his home soil.
In doubles, Shelton and his partner, Aleksandar Kovacevic, were knocked out in the round of 16 by the French pairing of Reboul and Doumbia. The 23-year-old has a chance to win the men’s singles tournament after avenging that doubles loss in a singles match against yet another Frenchman who pushed the American to the limit.
After beating Mannarino 7-6, 6-7, 6-3 on Thursday night, Shelton approached the presenter at the net for the post-game on-court interview. In his post-match reflection, Shelton immediately credited the win to his sick grandmother, paying her a heartfelt tribute.
“I knew it was going to be a battle. And as I said in my interview before this one, it is for my grandmother. She’s been fighting hard. I was trying to fight hard out here on the court as well,” Shelton said.
Shelton showcased real grit and tenacity on court against Mannarino, something that was lacking in his Australian Open quarterfinal match against Jannik Sinner. The Dallas Open is one of two ATP tournaments that Shelton will play in February.
Ben Shelton Desperately Needs Some Silverware to Remain in the Top-10 Rankings
In the Australian swing, Shelton played in only one warm-up event before the Grand Slam in Melbourne. The former US Open semifinalist was the top seed at the ASB Classic in Auckland but lost to Sebastian Baez in the quarterfinals.
After a disappointing run in the Australian swing, the American dropped down to ninth in the ATP rankings. Now, Shelton has to rack up some wins consistently and aim for silverware at ATP events to rise in the rankings and remain in the top 10.
While his quarterfinal opponent at the Dallas Open has yet to be decided, Shelton will next play the Mexican Open in Acapulco, another ATP 500 event.
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