Greg Rusedski ‘disappointed’ by what Ben Shelton did at the Australian Open this year

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Ben Shelton did not live up to everyone’s expectations at the Australian Open this year.

Shelton was backed by Greg Rusedski to do very well at the Australian Open this year.

After beating the likes of Casper Ruud, Valentin Vacherot and Ugo Humbert, Shelton reached the Australian Open quarterfinals for the third time in his career.

However, Shelton was beaten by Jannik Sinner, and Rusedski has admitted he was left ‘disappointed’ by something the American did during the match.

Greg Rusedski explains what he wishes Ben Shelton had done against Jannik Sinner

Sinner beat Shelton, 6-3 6-4 6-4, to win his ninth consecutive match in their head-to-head.

When reflecting on the Australian Open on his Off-Court with Greg podcast, former US Open finalist Rusedski spoke about how Grigor Dimitrov played against Sinner at Wimbledon last year before he was forced to retire.

Rusedski called this the ‘perfect match’ from Dimitrov up to this point, before admitting his disappointment in Shelton’s inability to really take the game to Sinner.

The former world number four also referenced Novak Djokovic’s first set against Carlos Alcaraz in the Australian Open final, and claimed that other players need to watch this.

“I think Grigor Dimitrov played the perfect match [against Sinner] at Wimbledon,” said Rusedski. “He was up two sets to love and Roger Federer himself said, I know how to play Sinner now after watching that Wimbledon match. Sinner wouldn’t have won Wimbledon without that injury and I think he would probably be talking about Alcaraz winning another Wimbledon title.

“You have to have that slice, keep the ball low, quick into the forehand coming forward. And I’d like to see somebody like Ben Shelton, who’s improving, get that backhand better, take the ball earlier. I was a little disappointed in Australia because he tried a tactic that didn’t work because he [Shelton] didn’t come out guns blazing and he let Sinner settle.

“And once they’re settled and feel comfortable, those top two guys, they get the job done. We saw that in the final with Djokovic and Alcaraz. Djokovic got off to a flyer, but Alcaraz didn’t panic because the fact that he knew Djokovic was a little bit tired.

“We saw Novak going for the forehand more, going for the serve, willing to come forward and people will start to see that and they’ll start to change because they have to if they want to beat the top two players on the planet.

“The other players have to look at how Djokovic played in that first set against Alcaraz and they have to change their approach if they want to beat the top two players on the planet. Once those two players are comfortable, you’re almost 99 percent of the time coming out second best.”

This is a similar point as made by Andy Roddick, who pointed out an error Shelton made on his serve against Sinner.

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Where is Ben Shelton playing after the Australian Open?

Shelton can now put his Australian Open disappointment behind him at his next tournament in Dallas.

Last year, Shelton lost in the second round of the ATP 500 tournament and he faces a tricky opener this year against young Canadian Gabriel Diallo.

The first seeded player Shelton could face is his compatriot Tommy Paul, with Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and defending Dallas Open champion Denis Shapovalov also in his half of the draw.

If Shelton can make it all the way to the final of the Dallas Open then he could face top seed Taylor Fritz.

However, before then Shelton will need to focus on his first-round match against Diallo, which will take place on Tuesday, February 10.

In their only previous meeting on the ATP Tour at the Washington Open last year, Shelton beat Diallo in straight sets.