"The little things": Ben Shelton shares secrets behind purple patch

America’s Ben Shelton is going through a purple patch in his career. The 22-year-old has won 14 out of the last 16 matches across four different competitions since the start of Wimbledon. That included Shelton’s triumph at the Canadian Open where he lifted the title after beating Karen Khachanov with a score of 6-7, 6-4, 7-6.

That triumph was a special one for Shelton because it was his first ATP 1000 title in his career. Before coming to Toronto, Shelton had an impressive run at the DC Open, where his journey ended in the semifinal after losing to Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 7-5.

Shelton is now featuring in the Cincinnati Open where he started his campaign on a positive note after being awarded a walkover against Argentina’s Camilo Ugo Carabelli. The final score of the match was 6-3, 3-1. Talking after the match, Shelton spoke about what was the most pleasing thing for him in the triumph in Toronto, more than even winning the biggest title of his career.

“I mean, it was cool,” said Shelton while speaking to the media about his Canadian Open triumph following his first-round win in Cincinnati. “It was nothing crazy to be honest. That’s what made me the most excited. So I mean, to get a title like that, I’m happy, and I’m happy with being able to do it with my people. But I was kind of more excited about the way that I was playing, so that was the coolest part for me, and we enjoyed it 100%, but there weren’t any crazy celebrations. It’s a pretty quick turnaround. For me, you know, I’m very goal-oriented, but also process-oriented. And what I was most happy about was my play throughout the week and the areas that I saw improvements, the little things.”

Shelton had little time to recover from winning the competition in Toronto to play his first match in Cincinnati. Talking about that, Shelton stated that his focus was to acclimatise to the conditions in Cincinnati, where the weather was hotter than it was in Toronto.

“I flew here in the morning yesterday, practiced here yesterday afternoon, trying to get used to the heat again,” said Shelton. “It wasn’t that hot up in Toronto. I was playing a lot of night matches, so try to re-acclimatize. I enjoyed it, I am enjoying it. It was a great week for me, a lot of fun up there.”

Shelton also went on to speak about the importance of doing well at the Cincinnati Open. He explained why the competition holds so much value for him and stated that there was enough reason for him to shift his focus quickly after lifting the title in Toronto.

“This is one of my favorite tournaments here in Cincinnati,” said Shelton. “One that I always want to do really well at. I had my first breakout wins here, and so my focus has definitely shifted pretty quick. Especially playing two days later, I play tomorrow. My focus has shifted pretty quick to the next tournament.”

Shelton’s next round opponent will be Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut. The 37-year-old booked his spot in the third round of the ongoing mega-event after beating Britain’s Cameron Norrie in straight sets with a score of 6-4, 6-3. It will be the third meeting between the two players in professional tennis. In the previous two meetings, Shelton had a clear advantage as he won on both occasions. Their most recent meeting came in the second round of the US Open in 2024 where Shelton emerged victorious in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.