Ben Shelton is enjoying his time at the BMW Open, with the American now into the semi-finals in Munich.
Shelton says he wasn’t supposed to be a top tennis player, but he currently finds himself in the ATP Tour top 20.
The 22-year-old is currently ranked 15th in the world, with Shelton now facing Francisco Cerundolo for a spot in the BMW Open final.
Shelton has been backed to break the top five in the world rankings, but his focus is undoubtedly on the ongoing ATP 500 event in Germany.
The American is the second seed in Munich, and has already knocked out the likes of Borna Gojo and Botic van de Zandschulp.
Ben Shelton shocked after breaking American record at the BMW Open
But Shelton has now created American tennis history with his quarter-final win over Italian Luciano Darderi.
As per Tennis Channel, he was told on court he is the first American to reach an ATP 500 semi-final on clay, to which the surprised star replied: “That’s a lie.”
His interviewer responded: “It is not a lie. But it does show how much you’re taking yourself out of your comfort zone, which a lot of Americans clearly don’t and come and play the European swing.”
Shelton replied: “Yeah I don’t know. I think this next gen of Americans is a little bit different than the norm, you know, Americans are always just big serve forehand guys. I mean, I guess I kind of am too.
“But guys want to grind. You know, guys like [Alex] Michelsen, Lerner Tien, [Nishesh] Basavareddy, they want to play every week.
“They want to play in every part of the world, and everybody is a little bit different. I think that there’s something to be said for playing the tournaments that you’re comfortable with, playing the surfaces that you’re happy playing on, and making the most of those weeks.
“So everybody’s different, for me, I’d love to have success on clay and be a guy who can compete for titles on all three surfaces and yeah that’s kind of what I’m working towards.”
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Shelton has previously managed to reach number 12 in the world rankings, with a break into the top 10 perhaps among his priorities for the near future.
Right now, however, he is chasing a third ATP Tour title, but must first make it past BMW Open fifth seed Cerundolo.
And as for himself and his compatriots, it is certainly an interesting time to say the least, with American men currently being outshone by their counterparts on the WTA Tour.
Sitting 15th in the world, Shelton is the third-highest ranked American on the ATP Tour, behind Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul in fourth and 12th respectively.
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