They began to pop up around New York City’s five boroughs in the weeks leading up to the 2023 US Open; billboards advertising a Roger Federer-backed, Swiss-owned shoe-and-apparel brand.
There was the defending champion Iga Swiatek, larger than life. And along Banker Street in the gentrified Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn, an oversized likeness of Ben Shelton stretching along the baseline accompanied by the tagline: "Dream On, Ben."
The 20-year-old American, the NCAA singles titlist in his final year at the University of Florida, is most definitely dreaming big in Flushing Meadows. Currently ranked No. 47 in the world, he is through to the quarterfinals at a major for the second time in 2023, having ridden his high-energy, power-serving game to wins over Pedro Cachin (1-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4), 2020 titlist Dominic Thiem (7-6(1), 1-0 ret.), Aslan Karatsev (6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 6-0) and, on Sunday, fellow American Tommy Paul (6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4). The latter was payback for his loss to Paul in the same round earlier this year at the Australian Open.
“Definitely on Cloud 9 after a match like that. Really happy to be through to the final eight. Definitely a dream for me since I was a kid,” said the left-hander, staying on theme.
Paul did his best to rattle Shelton, even resorting to some good-natured gamesmanship. After Shelton smacked a tournament-best 149-mph serve, Paul mockingly offered up a golf clap. On changeovers, he says he did anything he could to get in his zoning opponent’s head: “I try and be overly respectful. Maybe it will get him out of his rhythm. Like, ‘Dude, you’re serving great today!’—that sort of thing. Hit him with a couple of those today, but he had no reaction to it. It wasn’t really working.”
It hasn’t all been smooth sailing in 2023. Following his breakout run in Melbourne, Shelton failed to win consecutive matches in his next eight events. A drop down to the Challenger level only did so much to restore his confidence, and he would limp into the year-end Slam with just four wins in his last 14 tour-level matches.
For a shoe-and-apparel brand, adding Swiatek to your roster of professional athletes is a no-brainer. She’s as dominating a force as you’ll find on the women’s tour. Shelton, however, is more of a risk. You can bet the company wanted more traction in the North American marketplace. And you can bet Federer was as big a voice as any in the boardroom when the call was made. No one wants to back a player who fails to deliver on the hype. But if the 20-time Slam champ says Shelton is the real thing, there’s a good chance he is the real thing. You won’t find a much weightier endorsement.
“He’s an unbelievable athlete,” attested Thiem. “I really love to watch him.”
“If this is the way he plays day in, day out, the guy is Top-10 in six months,” testified Alexei Popyrin after his three-set loss to Shelton in Australia. “If he continues playing the way he played like this, then he’s a force to be reckoned with. Not much you can do in terms of attacking a second serve. It makes it even harder that he’s a lefty.”
Shelton did rise to a career-high No. 35, but his near-summer-long walkabout kept him from Popyrin’s prediction.
“There’s going to be a little bit of a learning curve. I’m going to have to make some improvements and adjustments,” he said. “I think that was a piece for me that I kind of had to keep my perspective and know that, ‘Okay, it’s not like I’m supposed to go out here and win every single match I play just because I did something good early in the season.’ Having the right people around you, keeping my head screwed on straight, knowing that this is a marathon not a sprint, and I have a lot of long-term goals. I’m not as worried about the short-term.”
With those subpar results came the inevitable criticism on social media.
“I’d be lying if I said I don’t see it. But I’m not a guy who gets frightened or scared by comments on social media,” he said. “When people are saying negative things about me, that just drives me. It’s not something that I ever worry about. If I go to sleep at night thinking about it, it’s more anger than me being sad. That helps me get out of bed and go to work every single day; work hard to get to where I want to be. I think that it’s something that helps fuel me.”
“He’s really athletic. He’s fun to watch. He’s yelling. He’s got a lot of energy. He’s great for the sport.” — Frances Tiafoe
Yet another American now awaits Shelton in Frances Tiafoe, who’s back into the quarterfinals for the second year in a row.
“He’s just an extremely loud player—hits the ball big, serves huge, throwing his whole arm at that thing. He’s so pumped up,” said the 10th-ranked Tiafoe of his upcoming opponent. “Comes to the net. He’s got great volleys. He’s really athletic. He’s a great player. He’s fun to watch. He’s saying the loudest ‘C’MON!” from the first point of the match 'til the last. He’s yelling. He’s got a lot of energy. He’s great for the sport.”
“Ben has wanted to play me at the Open for a long time. So he’s going to be super excited. He’s going to come out with a lot of energy. I’m just going to have to tame him down, try to be the vet and get the win.”
“Frances as a player is electric. He’s kind of been like a brother to me since I’ve been out here on tour and a guy who has kind of told me that he believed in me from my first ATP tournament,” countered Shelton. “Just a great guy off the court. But on the court, a nightmare to deal with.”
“He does so many things well; one of them being engaging the crowd. He’s just one of those guys where it’s must-see TV. You want to watch him play all the time. He kind of has that Carlos Alcaraz effect, especially here in New York. This is his place where he really wants to show up. To be able to play against him in the quarterfinals in Arthur Ashe [Stadium] is something that's pretty special.”
He’s up against it, as they say, but Shelton will surely do his best to keep his dream alive.
