Darren Cahill compared Ben Shelton to Nick Kyrgios as he stressed the need for personalities on tour.
The 57-year-old coach praised the young American after his performance at the US Open, saying that Shelton was the kind of player that brought in big crowds and kept the sport entertaining.
This was visible at the last Grand Slam of the year in New York. Not only did the 20-year-old live up to the hype around him as a rising talent by reaching the semi-finals, but he also set a new trend after his victory over tenth seed Frances Tiafoe when he mimed picking up a phone and hanging up.
His semi-final opponent and eventual champion Novak Djokovic then continued the gesture after he defeated Shelton in the next round, sparking a lot of fan engagement online.
Speaking on Jimmy Connors' Advantage Connors podcast, Cahill likened Shelton to Kyrgios in order to demonstrate how the former's personality will bring in crowds.
"He's like Kyrgios, you like Kyrgios, you hate him, I don't care. On the tour, he brings something different and people will go out and buy a ticket, and watch these guys play. And Ben brings a real joy in what he's doing on the court, he's not scared, he doesn't care who he is playing," Cahill said.
The Australian also addressed Djokovic's response, saying it was good for the Tour to have players show their personalities in such a way.
"I love him, I think the fact that Novak took him up a little bit (for his celebrations) was awesome. You can't have robots on tour, you can't have no-personality's on tour," he said.
Shelton saw a meteoric rise in the ATP Ranking after his success at the US Open, breaking into the top 20. Cahill went on to praise the player and predict great things for his future.
"Incredibly brave in the big moments, he was certainly playing to the crowd, enjoying the crowd. Again, you need to put those results week after week to be a factor in the top 10. I think Ben is so young, maybe he's not used to it, maybe a little bit too many expectations came onto his shoulders after the Australian Open.
"Now we're going to see Ben consistently improve every week. I'm not saying he's gonna race into the top 5, I think eventually he's a definite top 10 player," he continued.
Darren Cahill enjoyed Novak Djokovic doing the Ben Shelton phone celebration: “He's like Kyrgios. You like Kyrgios, you hate him, I don't care. On the tour, he brings something different & people will go out & buy a ticket, & watch these guys play. Ben brings a real joy in what…
