Ben Shelton has reflected on the mistakes he made against Alexander Zverev in his first match at the ATP Finals.
Shelton has been able to improve his game this year, enabling him to qualify for the ATP Finals for the first time in his career.
However, it was always going to be a tough task for the American, with Shelton being handed a tricky ATP Finals draw.
This was proven in his first match, with Shelton being beaten by Zverev, 6-3 7-6(6), as he now faces an uphill battle.
Ben Shelton names the shot that lost him the match against Alexander Zverev
Shelton has never beaten Zverev before, including four defeats to the world number three this year.
The American looked set to force a deciding set when 6-3 up in the tie-break, but he failed to convert his three set points and instead Zverev won the last five points of the match.
When reflecting on the match in his post-match press conference, Shelton admitted that he may have overplayed a bit in the most crucial points of the tie-break.
“Yeah, hindsight is 20/20,” said Shelton. “6-3 I used a play that had worked a couple times for me in the match. He came up with the goods. Too good on the return.
“I can’t be frustrated with my decision where I served at 6-4. Kind of over-pressing on the first ball. Same as over-pressing 6-5 on the first ball after the return. Especially I wasn’t feeling uncomfortable in the rally at that point in the match. I just overplayed a little bit. Yeah, three points I wish I could have back, for sure.
“Like I said, a lot of positives putting myself in that position to win the set. As a guy who serves the way I do, I got to close that out.”
Shelton was then asked an additional question about the match, and questioned over the positives he could take from the match.
This is where Shelton explained that he was happy with his backhand against Zverev, before admitting that he thought his forehand was his downfall.
“I hit my backhand great. I didn’t feel that that side was breaking down at all,” said Shelton. “I was hitting winners on my backhand, which is new for me. My ball control was great. My unforced error count on that side was really low. I know that my forehand’s a weapon. I actually lost with my forehand today.
“How solid I was off the backhand side is a positive. Started to figure out how to get in points on the return late in the match. He served exceptionally well, which made it very difficult.
“But I got better as the match went on. If I was to win one of those set points in the second set, maybe we’re having a different conversation.
“But yeah, I felt like the way that I was more in control today than I’d felt in the past matches against him, I’m still trying to find it. I made way too many unforced errors, especially on the forehand. I didn’t hit the forehand exactly how I want to. That’s something that I know I have.”
Ben Shelton could be in danger of going winless at the ATP Finals this year
Shelton is now in a difficult position, after facing a setback in his bid to qualify for the semifinals of the ATP Finals.
However, history suggests that Shelton could join an unwanted group of players who lose all of their round-robin matches.’
After winning his first match against Jannik Sinner, Shelton has lost every match against the Italian.
This includes their most recent meeting, with Sinner beating Shelton at the Paris Masters less than two weeks ago.
| Ben Shelton’s Head-to-Head | Last meeting | |
| Vs Jannik Sinner | 7-1 Sinner | Sinner beat Shelton, 6-3 6-3 (Paris Masters 2025) |
| Vs Felix Auger-Aliassime | 1-0 Auger-Aliassime | Auger-Aliassime beat Shelton, 6-4 6-2 6-1 (Roland Garros 2024) |
Shelton also lost his only previous meeting against the in-form Felix Auger-Aliassime, which took place on the clay of Roland Garros last year.
While it is not something that he will want to experience, players including Novak Djokovic have also gone winless at the ATP Finals before.
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