WATCH: Ben Shelton Pricelessly Reacts to Embarrassing Mistake in Tough Italian Open Semifinal Loss

The upcoming Paris Olympics later this year have many singles players competing in doubles. Stefanos Tsitsipas and Taylor Fritz have been seen in action in both formats. Another star shining across all formats is Ben Shelton, who has played doubles regularly this season alongside his singles commitments. However, he recently had an unforgettable moment during the ongoing Italian Open.

Shelton was seen in action today during his men’s doubles semifinal encounter with his partner, Alexander Bublik. The duo faced the top seeds, Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos. Although the latter hardly broke a sweat during their victory, an interesting moment was captured in the match, which went viral on the Internet.

As Shelton served in the ninth game of the first set, Zeballos came back with an overhead lob. Afterwards, the American star approached the net to hit a smash. However, the ball bounced off the net tape and landed. By Shelton’s standards, it was an easy failure, and as a result, it earned him a wry smile. Moreover, he also signaled everyone to ignore this point by putting his finger on his lip.

Although this failure did not prove costly for Shelton as he won that match, both men ultimately lost the set 6-4, followed by a similar margin of defeat in the second set to bow out of the tournament. Although Shelton has easily failed to attract the attention of the tennis world, he is widely considered a future Grand Slam champion. Recently, a renowned trainer made a massive admission about this.

Legendary Coach Eric Riley Praises Ben Shelton

A few months ago, coach Eric Riley appeared on the Tennis Channel Inside-In Podcast. During the conversation, he analyzed Shelton’s game and his resurgence last year. Riley said: “He’s the best of the group. He has the lightest arm. Maybe the left-handed Shelton can win the French one year because he’ll mix it up.

Moreover, he also added: “He has the best and he has a great person by his side: his father. Maybe the left-handed Shelton can win the French one year because he’ll mix it up. He’s not going to try to play clay tennis on a clay court. He’s going to play hard court tennis, he wants to play on a court and he’s going to pull out all the stops. »

Shelton came close to winning a major trophy last year when he reached the semifinals of the US Open. However, to achieve the sport’s greatest glory, the American sensation will have to take his game one step further.