Shelton calls first Roland Garros since 1998 without Nadal or Federer 'ridiculous'

Ben Shelton shared a surprising statistic about Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal at the French Open.

Since his impressive campaign at the 2023 Australian Open, Ben Shelton has struggled to maintain good results, particularly on the clay court. He currently holds a record of 2-5 in ATP tournaments on this surface.

Following the confirmation of Rafael Nadal's absence, various statistics surrounding the 14-time French Open champion have been circulating. One of them is that it will be the first time Nadal misses Roland Garros since his debut in 2004. On Twitter, it was mentioned that considering Roger Federer as well, the 2023 edition will be the first time neither the Swiss nor the Spaniard will be present.

Ben Shelton shared the statistic, describing it as a "ridiculous stat."

Ben Shelton

@BenShelton

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Ridiculous stat

Roland-Garros

@rolandgarros

This year's Roland-Garros will be the first without Rafa or Roger since... 1998. 🥹

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The 20-year-old American will compete in the Geneva Open starting on Sunday, where he is the 5th seed. He will make his debut against the local player Marco Cecchinato, who is a highly dangerous opponent. Cecchinato has already defeated players like Diego Schwartzman, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, and Roberto Bautista Agut on clay earlier this year.