World Tennis Magazine

Unique Tennis Perspectives

Ben Shelton

Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe Play First ATP All African-American Final At A Place Arthur Ashe Was Not Welcomed

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Ben Shelton defeated Frances Tiafoe to win the singles title at the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships at River Oaks Country Club in Houston, Texas. The final was the first-ever singles final played between two African-American men (although there have been finals played between two black playrers, at least one from another country other than the United States.)

The significance was not lost on Shelton during his post-match victory speech, saying to Tiafoe, “You’v been such an inspiration to kids, people of color in our sport. Thanks for all you do for our sport and peope who look like you and me.”

One couldn’t help but think what the late, great Arthur Ashe would have said with pride of the Shelton vs. Tiafoe final at River Oaks, a location where he was not allowed to play back in his early days of playing pro tennis.

In his book “Acing Depression: A Tennis Player’s Toughest Match” by Cliff Richey (for sale and download here https://a.co/d/6TLNh0Y) who won the title at River Oaks in 1970, discussed specific segregation and racism that Ashe faced at places like River Oaks, specifically.

The following is the book excerpt where Richey discusses Ashe at River Oaks.

Every year, we used to play the River Oaks Invitational in Houston, an old tournament that had been around for 40 years. The name says it all: it was an invitational. They had never invited Arthur because of segregation—and he wouldn’t have felt comfortable there anyway. It was one of the poshest country clubs in the southern United States. When tennis went open, it became a pro tournament with prize money. In 1971, the event became a stop on the World Championship Tennis (WCT) circuit. Arthur, by contract, was on the WCT tour that year and River Oaks was an official event on that tour. So they had to invite Arthur, whether they wanted to or not. They would have faced lawsuits if they had tried to bar him from playing. Well, when the club managers found out Arthur was coming, we suddenly found ourselves no longer in the main clubhouse locker room. They put us in the pool locker room instead! I mentioned something to the tournament people about it. They gave the excuse that the pool locker room was closer to the courts. Bullshit! That’s the kind of stuff Arthur had to put up with

Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe at River Oaks

When Ben Shelton’s Serve Literally Caused Property Damage

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By Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

During his run at the 2023 U.S. Open, there has been much discussion about Ben Shelton’s devastating serve.

His fastest serves have been in the 140s – causing fans to gasp and scream in delight and awe.

Against Tommy Paul in the fourth round, Shelton hit two aces that registered 149 mph – both in the same game! The serves were among the fastest ever recorded in tennis history and three miles per hour shy of the U.S. Open record set by Andy Roddick.

Observers have called the Shelton serve “destructive” and it LITERALLY was destructive when Shelton played in the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships $15,000 U.S. Tennis Association ITF World Tennis Tour “Futures” entry-level pro event in Vero Beach, Florida in October of 2021, just seven months before Shelton won the NCAA singles title for the University of Florida.

Shelton’s serve was so devastating that when he hit aces (or long or wide serves) on the deuce court at The Boulevard Tennis Club’s Stadium Court the ball slammed into the event’s backwall signage. The repeated blows caused for the John’s Island Real Estate signage to be shattered by the hand of Shelton.

Shelton was confronted about his property destruction following his second round win over Blaise Bicknell at the event as you can watch on YOUTUBE here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oonrh9t4osQ

Shelton then posed for photos with the shattered signage with the director of John’s Island Real Estate Bob Gibb following his win.

The sponsor signage had to be taken down and tournament organizers considered putting a target in its place, trying to solicit donations to the non-profit Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation for every Shelton serve that hit the target. The pieces of the John’s Island Real Estate sponsor board were kept and after Shelton lost in the singles quarterfinals and doubles final at the event, he signed each piece of the board. One of the pieces was framed and then presented to Gibb and John’s Island Real Estate.

The story is documented in the ATP Tour website here: https://www.atptour.com/en/news/shelton-us-open-2023-feature?fbclid=IwAR1sWaBCUMAB23aB32Eh1c6zcK-Ej4Xna8oD7KuIYQ7e0mIDS5G7p1JkHXI

For more information on the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation, go to www.MardyFishChildrensFoundation.org

Ben Shelton poses with Bob Gibb of John’s Island Real Estate after his serve caused damage to his sponsorship sign at the 2021 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championship in Vero Beach, Florida

Novak Djokovic Saves The Day In This Australian Open

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BY JAMES BECK

It’s a good thing the Aussies allowed Novak Djokovic to stay in Melbourne this year.

Otherwise, the young crowd of players might have taken over completely in this Australian Open. After all, Rafa Nadal, Andy Murray, Daniil Medvedev and Iga Swiatek among others didn’t stick around very long.

Novak is saving the day Down Under for the great ones.

This is an Australian Open unlike any in recent years. It’s almost like the Australian Open, with its usual midnight to early-morning  Eastern Time matches has taken a step backward in world tennis.

American fans apparently no longer can watch those great matches that start at 3 a.m. or 4:30 a.m. ET, except on ESPN+.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN LOST IN THE SHUFFLE

This Australian Open appears to be kind of lost in the shuffle this January, virtually taking away its major status.

In the absence of those early-morning battles, I guess it’s okay that most of the top men and women other than Novak, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev, Tommy Paul, Elena Rybakina and Jessie Pegula have sang their Aussie songs and headed elsewhere, except maybe for doubles.

Don’t overlook tall Russian (who plays for Kazakhstan) Rybakina on the women’s side. She’s two wins away from her second Grand Slam title, having upended the top-ranked Swiatek in the round of 16 and then taking care of former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in the quarterfinals.

ALMOST LIKE A COLLEGE EVENT

Ben Shelton and J.J. Wolf are certainly outstanding American college level talents that came racing out of the winter red-hot.

But like MacKenzie McDonald, who thrashed an unprepared Nadal with a college-like all-power game only to falter the next round against a journeyman player like Yoshihito Nishioka, it’s doubtful that either Shelton or Wolf can stand the test of the only great one left — Djokovic.

In the long run, Shelton especially and Wolf likely will be stars. But these newcomers aren’t likely to hit the tour with the greatness that Carlos Alcaraz displayed when he was healthy during the last half of 2022.

WATCH FOR THE OTHER STARS AFTER AUSTRALIA

Other stars from last year such as Jannik Sinner, Cameron Norrie, Casper Ruud, Matteo Berrettini, Nick Kyrgios, Denis Shapovalov, Alexander Zverev and Felix Auger-Aliassime will make their own noise once the tour hits Europe and America.

As far as Americans other than Paul, I like the looks of young Jenson Brooksby, who upended the second-ranked Ruud in the second round. The 22-year-old Brooksby looks like a future star, that is if he gets in better physical condition.

Thus, Novak appears to be an almost certainty to sweep to his 22nd major title in an event that has been his own private playground for much of his career. That shouldn’t change on Sunday in the Australian Open final.

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James Beck was the 2003 winner of the USTA National Media Award  for print media. A 1995 MBA graduate of The Citadel, he can be reached at Jamesbecktennis@gmail.com.

UGA’s Ethan Quinn, With His “Hammer, Cannon, Beast” Forehand, Eyes College Tennis Mantle Vacated By Ben Shelton

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By Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

On the day that reigning NCAA singles champion Ben Shelton from the University of Florida announced he was turning pro, another big-hitting teenager from the Southeastern Conference started to make more noises that he wants to be the guy to fill that void in college tennis.

Ethan Quinn is an 18-year-old from Fresno, California and red-shirt freshman at the University of Georgia, who received a wild card entry into the U.S. Open qualifying tournament by virtue of finishing as runner-up at the USTA National Boys’ 18 Championship in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He took advantage of his opportunity and rose to this much bigger occasion by posting a first-round 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 win over No. 175-ranked Ernesto Escobedo of California, who has been ranked as high as No. 67 and played in the main draw of nine Grand Slam tournaments that includes a singles victory over now world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev at the 2017 Australian Open.

“That’s the hammer! That’s the cannon! Unleash the beast” is how former top college player and 1993 French Open doubles champ Luke Jensen described the Quinn forehand while commentating the match for ESPNews. Quinn sets up this superlative groundstroke with his big first serve, which was consistently clocking in the mid-120s while his kick second-serve jumped so high and wide that it had a familiarity to another Georgia Bulldog, all-time great server John Isner.

After losing in the first round of the Orange Bowl junior championships in late 2021, Quinn decided to enroll at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia early in January where he trained with the Bulldog team, but not yet competing for the team and retaining his four years of eligibility so he will be able to play the NCAA Championships in Athens in his senior year in 2026. The guidance and mentorship of Bulldog head coach Manny Diaz and associate coach Jamie Hunt, the intense training and the use of the University of Georgia athletic facilities paid dividends as Quinn progressively improved his results while playing in entry-level ITF World Tennis Tour U.S. Tennis Association Pro Circuit events.

“All the training helped him,” said Diaz. “He has also been very competitive but he most importantly has been very disciplined and motivated. He is always wanting information and processes it very well. He’s like a sponge.”

In April, he earned his first ATP points by reaching the semifinals of the $25,000 ITF event in Bakersfield, Calif., and reached his first pro final at the $15,000 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships event in Vero Beach, Florida. In June, he beat the NCAA singles finalist August Holmgren from Denmark and the University of San Diego to win the $15,000 ITF event in San Diego, then in July won the $25,000 event in Champaign, Illinois, beating Ohio State standout Cannon Kingsley and USC Trojan Stefan Dostanic in the semifinals and finals, respectively. He then had his fruitful trip to Kalamazoo, Michigan where he picked up the runner-up trophy in singles, falling a tight four-set final to Learner Tien, and won the doubles title, and a main draw U.S. Open doubles wild card, with partner Nico Godsick. To boot, he earned the event’s prestigious sportsmanship award.

“The biggest thing that has impressed me this summer has been his maturity on the court and his poise and composure,” said Diaz. “He got to Georgia and really stressed how he wanted to have four full years and finish playing the NCAA Championships in Athens his senior year.  I think this summer has opened his eyes to the fact that he has an opportunity to play at the highest level and it is our job as coaches to expand our kid’s dreams. That’s what we did with John (Isner) and that’s what we do when we recruit kids. We want them to shoot for the stars and realize that there is a price to be paid. Ethan is paying that price. He has a bright future.”

Quinn went from never having an ATP ranking in April to moving on the cusp of the top 500 at No. 507. He is the No. 4 ranked American teenager behind Shelton, Zach Svajda and Martin Damm. That ranking will make him one of the top players in collegiate tennis, even before he officially hits a ball for the Georgia Bulldogs.

He has stated that his goal was to gun for Ben Shelton and Georgia’s arch rival Florida Gators for superiority in the SEC and college tennis (as he does here in his post-match interview in Vero Beach here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvW3Fl1a4jg). However, while that goal will have to be altered with Shelton now jumping to the pros, bringing NCAA team, singles and doubles titles back to Athens, Georgia will certainly be his next long-term targets.