Ben Shelton did not have the Sunshine Double he would have been hoping for.
Shelton struggled with illness at Indian Wells, where he lost his second match to fellow American Learner Tien.
The world number nine claimed that he was feeling better ahead of the Miami Open, a tournament Shelton had previously struggled at.
Despite seemingly feeling better, Shelton lost to Alexander Shevchenko in his only match at the Miami Open, and former Wimbledon semifinalist Sam Querrey has revealed if he is now worried about his compatriot.
Sam Querrey explains why he is not worried about Ben Shelton after his Miami Open loss
Prior to the sunshine double of Indian Wells and the Miami Open, Shelton won the Dallas Open, but he has been unable to continue this form.
Despite having a disappointing month of tournaments in March, Querrey has suggested that Indian Wells and the Miami Open can be seen as isolated tournaments, and backed Shelton to return to form for the clay court season.
“I did not watch this [his defeat] but Ben still throws in some of those tough losses or stretches during the year but I feel like Ben has these massive peaks like seven times a year, basically at every major you trust him to play well and then three or four other times, Dallas or wherever it is, he just plays huge tennis,” Querrey said on the Nothing Major Podcast.
“In my opinion it’s nothing to worry about. He was sick. I always thought Miami was tough to play in. I never played well there. Maybe Miami is one of those places for Ben for whatever reason.
“But I trust that during a Monte-Carlo, Madrid, French Open, Wimbledon, he is going to be ready to go and playing well.”
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How many ranking points is Ben Shelton defending during the clay court season?
Shelton will now move on to the clay court season, where he had mixed results last year.
The 23-year-old reached the final of the ATP 500 tournament in Munich last year, where Shelton was beaten by Alexander Zverev, but he suffered first round losses at tournaments in Monte Carlo and Rome.
As a result, Shelton is defending a total of 610 ranking points on clay this year, which is one of the lowest totals inside the top 10.
| Clay court tournament Ben Shelton played last year | Ranking Points Ben Shelton is defending |
| U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships (Houston) | 0 |
| Monte Carlo Masters | 10 |
| BMW Open (Munich) | 330 |
| Madrid Open | 50 |
| Italian Open | 10 |
| French Open | 200 |
| Total | 610 |
Shelton did not play in Houston last year, despite having won his only clay court title at the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships in 2024, but he will return to the tournament next month.
However, instead of missing the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships, Shelton has decided to skip the Monte Carlo Masters, as one of many American players to do so.
The ATP 500 tournament in Houston will get underway on Monday, March 30.
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