Ben Shelton’s Indian Wells campaign came to an early end in the third round with a loss to Learner Tien.
The 23-year-old American, who won his fourth career title at the Dallas Open in February, fell to Tien in three sets at the first ATP Masters 1000 event of the year.
Shelton was one of the favourites to go far in Indian Wells following his triumph in Dallas, however soon into his campaign in ‘Tennis Paradise’, he caught the flu.
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Though he was still able to play while ill, the eighth seed struggled to perform at his very best level, picking up just one win at the tournament against Reilly Opelka.
Now, ahead of the second half of the Sunshine Double at the Miami Open, Shelton has posted on social media for the first time since the early exit in Indian Wells.
Ben Shelton ‘can’t wait’ to play at the Miami Open
In a post on Instagram, he explained: “Flu took me out the last couple weeks.”
“Miami soon. Can’t wait to battle at home,” said Shelton, who played tennis for the Florida Gators at the University of Florida.
Shelton has appeared at the Miami Open three times in his career, but has never managed to make a deep run at the tournament.
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He made his Miami debut during the 2023 season and advanced to the second round, before going one step further by reaching round three in 2024.
Last year, Shelton crashed out in the second round by losing his opening match to Coleman Wong of Hong Kong.
Ben Shelton’s ranking after the Indian Wells Open
With his third-round defeat at the Indian Wells Open, Shelton lost 150 ATP points due to a worse finish at the event than the previous year.
He slipped one position in the ATP rankings, going from eighth in the world to ninth, with a new overall points tally of 3860.
The player who leapfrogged him is Felix Auger-Aliassime, who reached the fourth round of the competition.
Shelton can gain points if he advanced past the second round of the Miami Open.
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