“I wanted to do something a little different than everyone else,” Ben Shelton said recently in Madrid.
In fact, he was talking last year about his decision to sign a major deal with On, a small but growing Swiss shoe and apparel company, rather than go after the American giant with the famous Swoosh. (More on that in a bit.) The Florida native was in the early stages of a three-month European sojourn that would last as long as Wimbledon, which ends in mid-July.
But Shelton, 21, could be talking about anything to do with his budding tennis career, which is the opposite of conventional.
Did you play football (American style) in addition to tennis until middle school? different.
A normal high school instead of a tennis academy? different.
Zero junior Grand Slam appearances? different.
The main example of university enthusiasm: “That's right!” After the big and small shots, he retired and then hung up. The exclamation point for his victory? different.
And now that clay swing is here, Shelton is once again going through the trouble, treating last week's third-round loss in Spain as just another step in addressing something that has puzzled most Americans. He is advancing to the Italian Open. Men for the first time in a while.
That would be that red clay.
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The easy, brutal nature of Shelton's tennis, which reached the semifinals of the U.S. Open last year, may be deceptive.
He can serve at 150 miles per hour (241 km/h) and, like most players, can hit a rocket forehand that can quickly close points or steal momentum in a rally. Masu.
aAt first glance, he gives the impression of being a typical American big game player, but he doesn't translate easily on the dirt. Other notable Yankees with those qualities have endured the past few months of attrition-style tennis, essentially hanging on and counting the days until summer's grass and hard courts.
Well, that's not Shelton's style.
He spent two weeks in a hardcore clay court boot camp before leaving for Spain. “I worked on the things I needed to do on and off the court: strength, fitness, movement,” he said. “I just really polished it. ”
Rather than putting up with the soft stuff, Shelton embraces it. This is something other American men have traditionally avoided. Brian, his own father and coach, was a touring pro in the 1980s and 1990s. For most of his career, he often went off course on red clay outside of Roland Garros and other odd tournaments.
“I realized too late that my game was very well suited for it,” he said after a practice session with his son last week. “I had a great kick serve. I was able to push everyone back. That held court.” He shook his head, still irritated with his younger self even after 30 years.
His children have not ingrained such beliefs. He takes a different approach.
Late last year, Shelton asked veteran trainer Gabriel Echevarria to join the team full-time as strength and conditioning coach. This was another unconventional but logical move for someone who can be strong as a lumberjack and run like a deer, but still has a tendency to lose his footing or lose his balance.
Shelton wants to move on the dirt like their best players (Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Echevarria, who has worked for the United States Tennis Association and Tennis Australia for the past dozen years, is Argentinian. He is known for having a special knowledge of what it takes to achieve proper movement and balance in tennis, especially on clay courts, which are the most common tennis courts in Argentina.
An ideal candidate to lead a crash course.
Echevarria said the most common mistake made by beginners on clay courts is wasting time by sliding after the shot instead of sliding. into the shot. Certain shots require fewer, smaller, or additional steps.
“You can learn a skill and develop it, but first you need to learn how to do it correctly,” Echevarria explains. “If you learn the right way, the model patterns, you can develop that skill.”
Shelton recognizes Echevarria as a kind of clay whisperer, which helps him understand Echevarria's idiosyncrasies. “Clay courts are a little different than hard courts,” Shelton says. “We can't do the same thing.”
So before each day's training, back in his hometown in Florida rather than in Monte Carlo or Barcelona, where tournaments are being held, Echevarria and Shelton's father discussed which moves to focus on. Sometimes I learned how to run diagonally. On clay, there are a lot of drop shots and slices, so you often run diagonally. Other times it was about how you recovered and transitioned to the next shot.
Shelton then headed to the court and spent a couple of hours trying out what he had just learned. After a break and lunch, the afternoon consisted of time on the court and/or up to 90 minutes in the gym if Brian deemed it necessary. It was brutal, and Shelton was acutely aware of the need to attune herself to what was beneath her feet.
“Every clay court is a little different,” he says.
Shelton's serve gives him an edge on slower surfaces (Julian Finney/Getty Images)
“The bounce is unpredictable, so you can't always rely on short-hopping the ball, that is, taking it early. If you get too close to the bounce or set your foot too early, the bounce will become unpredictable and It can go in unexpected directions,” he explains.
This is especially true in Madrid, where the altitude (650 meters above sea level) increases the speed of the ball flight, creating a situation in which Daniil Medvedev showed impotent anger towards the coaching team and was irritated to participate in the match. It was. You may be in the right place at the wrong time or vice versa. Rome, at sea level, is softer, slower and has its own quirks.
Shelton? he doesn't care.he is thoughtful, And he's here for that.
“I have a little more time to play, because in most places clay courts are a little slower than hard courts, but here in Madrid they are actually really fast,” he said.
“But most of the time the game is a little slower. So you have more time to spend and I love that. But at the same time you have to learn how to use that time and you also have to spend more time on it. You also have to learn how to defend against opponents who can afford it.”
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These are the words of someone who is determined not to repeat the sins of his father, and someone who wants to be a little different than what many players in the world expect from a player with a unique brand of raw power and athleticism. It's a word.
It wasn't all that different from his choice to roll the dice on a deal with On a little over a year ago.
He attended the University of Florida, a typical Nike school. Many of the biggest names in American tennis and American sports have been synonymous with the Swoosh over the years, including John McEnroe, Andre Agassi, Michael Jordan Tiger Woods, and LeBron James.
“I didn't want to be one of the 50 people at Nike,” Shelton says. “Obviously, it was also a big draw that On had probably the biggest icon in tennis history, you know, aside from Serena (Williams),” Shelton said five years ago. The company cites Roger Federer, who has acquired a large stake in the company, and with his involvement, the company will release its debut collection of tennis apparel, along with a collection by Shelton and world number one Iga Swiatek. Built and released.
Here was Shelton, a man, no less, a male tennis star who would put Federer one spot below, or at least on the same level as, Serena Williams in the sports pecking order. That doesn't happen often.
Shelton looks to win a title in Houston this year (Aaron M. Sprecher/Getty Images)
Two weeks ago, on an unseasonably chilly Saturday night, Shelton took to the court for his first match against Tomas Machak of the Czech Republic.
Machak, 23, has beaten some of the best players in the world this season. He played a silky and deceptively powerful all-court game and, like most Central European players, grew up primarily on clay courts.
He may be ranked 35 spots below Shelton, currently No. 14 in the world, but he is the kind of player who has proven to be virtually forever a nightmare for Americans on clay courts.
Shelton immediately defeated Machak 6-0, 6-2.
He used his power to push the Czech far behind the baseline before stepping forward himself and sending volleys and drop shots into the open court. He took advantage of the little extra time clay afforded him — “I love time on the ball,'' he says — and jumped on Machak's second serve to grab it early and regain momentum. .
Two days later, Shelton secured a likely straight-set victory over Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan, coming away with just one point. He struggled to deal with some of Bublik's notoriously persistent drop shots and scrambled uncomfortably. That gave Bublik the glimmer of hope he needed to get back into the game. Kazakhstan would win in three sets, 3-6, 7-6(2), 6-4.
This was a live version of the clay tutorial Shelton wanted from Echevarria.It doesn't matter if I lose, IIt was a 180-degree change from when he landed in Europe for his first red soil season a year ago. “Last year, we had no idea what was going to happen,” he said.
It's not his fault. There isn't much red clay in America, and players learn the game primarily on hard courts.
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Shelton, who grew up in Florida, had played on green clay, but it was harder to move forward than on red clay, and the bounce was much harder to predict. Fellow Florida native and 2018 French Open runner-up Sloane Stephens calls red clay “the real thing.”Still, Shelton hardly hit the ball. After turning 16, she switched to clay courts and shifted her focus to hard court college tennis.
His match against Pavel Kotov in Rome today, Friday, May 10th, will be his 16th professional match on clay, including the National Clay Courts competition in Houston earlier this month. This includes four championship wins. Although he won that tournament and any ATP Tour title is nothing to sneeze at, Shelton knew he wasn't ready to compete at Roland Garros. So, boot camp. learning. Discomfort, accepting something completely different from what he expected. In one word, it's different.
Some great tennis players become great by becoming a higher quality version of the player they were when they first entered the tour. Some people go from good to great by opening their minds to new skills.
What is Shelton?
“He's like a sponge,” Echevarria said.
Shelton's slingshot serve is a trademark of his game (On)
Shelton came out of boot camp believing he could develop on clay courts eventually, perhaps not today or tomorrow.
Clay forces him to become the player he wants to be. Not only is his serve a game-changing cruise missile, but his ability to move the ball around the court with spin and height above the net makes him an all-around threat. Then he gets to the net, volleys in the open court, and grinds when he needs to.
“Americans haven't had the most success in the clay court season or at Roland Garros, but it would be really great if we could change that narrative,” he says.
He also believes he has no choice. The clay season lasts two months. It's not a four-week sprint grass season. On clay, there are too many ranking points for players trying to reach the top of their game to concede anything.
Americans are generally known for being patient. They now prefer instant gratification. Focusing on process over results doesn't always come naturally. But then again, Shelton is a little different in that department, with some input from Echevarria and his father.
He's working on this clay swing just like he did in boot camp. It's an opportunity to learn, gather information, analyze how you've improved and see if you can perform all the step patterns and all the slides on the most famous Clash Red. bricks of the world.
It would be great if we could win. What if not? No problem. As requested by Clay, Team Shelton is playing the long game.
“We don’t get frustrated,” Echevarria said. “We know that, so we're not worried about it, what do you think? The French Open will be held on clay courts. Next Year. It will probably be played on clay courts for the next 100 years. ”
(Top photo: LR: ON, Center: ATP Tour, Design: Dan Goldfarb)
