Ben Shelton raised plenty of eyebrows by committing to play the Davis Cup so soon after reaching the final of the US Open.
Shelton was beaten in four sets by Alexander Zverev at the New York Grand Slam, but he jetted straight to the Czech Republic to represent the United States in their Davis Cup tie.
The American was beaten in his opening match, falling to a 6-4, 6-4 defeat to Jiri Lehecka at the Prague Arena and the scoreline is currently at one apiece, following Learner Tien’s victory against Jakub Mensik.
During his post-match press conference, Shelton was asked about his desire to play the Davis Cup so soon after reaching his first Grand Slam final.
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“I’m just happy to be representing the USA here. I think it’s an honour to be able to play,” said the American about playing the Davis Cup.
“I missed the tie we played against Czech last year post-US Open because I was injured. I wasn’t going to miss this one no matter what happened at the US Open. No, I’m not feeling tired, and super excited for Day 2 to try and put this match away tomorrow.”
Shelton has, however, opted not to play the Laver Cup the following week, despite previously signing up for the team tournament.
The American was set to represent Andre Agassi’s Team World at The O2 Arena in London, but fixture congestion has led to him pulling out of the competition.
He will be replaced by compatriot Brandon Nakashima, who will now team with the likes of Taylor Fritz, Alex de Minaur, and Alexander Bublik.
Shelton’s next tournament is now expected to be the Japan Open, which begins on September 30th.
The American will be the second seed at the ATP 500 tournament, behind only Carlos Alcaraz, so he will be one of the favourites to lift the title.
Shelton is a previous winner of the Japan Open, having lifted the trophy during the 2023 season, but he did not play the tournament last season.
That means the American can use the event as essentially a ‘free hit’ as he will not be defending any ranking points at the tournament.
As a result, Shelton could continue to put pressure on Alcaraz in third place on the ATP Tour rankings as he is already closing in on the seven-time Grand Slam champion.
There is just 880 ranking points splitting the two men following the US Open, so Shelton has a real chance to challenge his Spanish rival in the final three months of the season.
