Ben Shelton has publicly backed Jannik Sinner’s following criticism for the world No 1 for his withdrawal from the Canadian Open.
Sinner, along with Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz, will not be playing the Masters event, with the Italian saying he wanted to ‘prioritise his health’.
Many have questioned Sinner’s decision, particularly as he was on track to become the first player in tennis history to win every Masters event in a calendar year.
However, the Italian has also earned backing from several former pros, with Kim Clijsters praising Sinner’s decision to miss the tournament.
Ben Shelton, who is playing the Washington Open before heading to the Canadian Open, has also defended Sinner’s decision to withdraw from the event.
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“I’m not sure how sustainable the current circuit setup is. I think, for me, the biggest concern is injuries. Sinner knows his body better than anyone, like all players,” he said during his Washington Open press conference.
“If Jannik and Novak feel physically and mentally prepared, they’ll play. In my opinion, they don’t miss a tournament without a reason. (Jannik) is winning as many matches as he plays; his match count is extremely high. How is he going to be able to play in all the tournaments? I don’t think it’s sustainable.”
Sinner has already played 47 matches so far on the ATP Tour, despite his decision to miss several tournaments already this year.
Compare that to Ben Shelton, who has played 36 matches in the first seven months of the season, which has included three ATP title victories.
The Italian is still playing the same amount of matches, if not more, than the rest of his rivals, he’s just packing them in at high-profile tournaments.
He’s reached the final of every tournament he’s played so far this season, except the Australian Open, the Qatar Open, and Roland Garros.
His early exit at Roland Garros was the only time he was knocked out of a tourmament earlier than the quarter finals too, so Sinner has been putting in the hard yards on the ATP Tour this season.
Considering Sinner took most of the grass court season off, that’s pretty impressive going from the world No 1.
In fact, the star might have worked out the perfect solution for his fatigue and health issues, without having to sacrifice his Grand Slam-winning aspirations.
The Italian’s selective nature when it comes to big tournaments could be a trend we see used plenty more times by Sinner, and potentially other top players on the ATP Tour.
