Ben Shelton says he’s made a big change to his game which has stopped him feeling ‘uncomfortable’

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Ben Shelton explained one significant change he made to his game when playing on clay.

The American is still very new to the ATP Tour after beginning just his second full season in January.

Therefore, he is still relatively inexperienced playing on surfaces such as clay, on which he has contested just 30 matches.

As Shelton continues to learn how to play on the dirt, he is understanding more about his game and how to best utilise his strengths on the slow and low bouncing surface, such as his big serve.

How has Ben Shelton improved his clay-court game?

Shelton has enjoyed a meteoric rise since making his ATP tour debut in 2022. He has already been ranked as high as 14 in the world and has two titles to his name, with the most recent trophy coming on clay after he defeated compatriot Frances Tiafoe in Houston, Texas.

Now he wants to have a strong run at Roland Garros and improvements to his powerful serve can help him achieve that.

Elaborating on the changes made, he said: “I was feeling uncomfortable and I was not really sure how to hold serve or what serves to use on the surface as I wasn’t getting as much production out of my flat serve.

“So I started going for more and more and then I was missing and I was pressing and getting angry and lots of double faults. I think that this year I found a little bit better base and I’m a lot more confident playing in rallies after the serve.

“I think that kind of improves my game as a whole when I know that I’ll be able to hang in rallies and win rallies against some of the best ball strikers in the world.”

Who did Ben Shelton beat to reach the third round at Roland Garros?

Shelton defeated veteran Kei Nishikori to reach the third round of Roland Garros for the first time in his career.

The 2014 US Open finalist was playing just his third match of the year after a long injury layoff.

The pair played a tight first set which Shelton edged on a tiebreak by nine points to seven, before claiming the second frame 6-4.

The match, which began on Wednesday, came to an end on Thursday when the 34-year-old retired hurt due to a shoulder injury. Shelton will play Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime in the next round.