“Ben Shelton never gonna win a Slam”; “Very disappointed” – Fans react as American suffers shock loss at Shanghai Masters vs World No. 56
Ben Shelton recently got outmatched by Arthur Gea in the third round of the Rolex Shanghai Masters on Sunday. The World No. 4 had an early exit in the Chinese ATP Masters 1000 event after hitting a new career milestone by making his first Grand Slam final appearance at the US Open against Alexander Zverev.
Following the New York Grand Slam event, the 24-year-old lost both the singles matches at the Davis Cup, after which he withdrew from the ATP 500 event in Tokyo due to injury. In the Shanghai Masters, Gea marked his biggest career victory, as this was his first victory against a top-10 player.
“I’ve been practicing hard every day since the beginning of the year to win against those guys. I’m playing a really good season right now, so, yeah, that’s a really good win, but I was ready for it,” Arthur Gea said.
Fans were extremely upset with Ben Shelton’s dramatic Shanghai Masters exit. They criticized the American’s inconsistent performances, pointing out that while he won a title at one tournament, he struggled to make it past the Round of 16 at others.
“Very disappointed 😞,” one fan commented.
“Shelton’s record in masters this year is so funny. A title but not a single round of 16 anywhere else,” another fan wrote.
Ben Shelton praises Arthur Gea after Shanghai Masters loss
The World No. 4 had good things to say after falling short 7-6(3) in front of the Frenchman in the third round of the ATP Masters 1000 event.
“I got outplayed today. The guy played better than me,” Ben Shelton said.
“I thought he handled my serve outstandingly. I thought he did a great job on return today [from] start to finish. He put it a lot in play. He was putting them deep to the baseline. It was tough to attack,” he added.
Ben Shelton also pointed out how he expected to arrive earlier and prepare for the event but he was dealing with jetlag when he reached Shanghai. The 24-year-old’s next scheduled match is the Swiss Indoors in Basel, Switzerland
