The meeting between Ben Shelton and Lloyd Harris yesterday Thursday was also an atmospheric highlight.
by Jens Huiber
last edited: 04.07.2024, 22:55
© Getty Images
Ben Shelton and Court 18 – it has worked well so far
By Jens Huiber from Wimbledon
Ben Shelton has so far played ten competitive sets at the 2024 Wimbledon tournament. And all ten on Court 18, the legendary court on which John Isner and Nicola Mahut once played for three days and up to a 70:68 in the fifth set. Shelton and Lloyd Harris might also have managed the latter on Thursday. However, as is well known, the matches are now ended with a champions tiebreak.
The good news for Ben Shelton: He won six of these ten sets on Court 18. And thus earned himself a duel with Denis Shapovalov. Lefty against Lefty, that promises to be great fun, especially since Shapovalov is basically a very fine grass court player who won the junior title here in 2016. And as an adult, he lost to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals in 2021. In a match in which the Canadian actually saw himself as having the advantage.
Shelton hardly had any advantages against Lloyd Harris, the American has recently been allowing himself to be emotional on the court again. It speaks volumes about Harris’ composure that he was not bothered by this. Or at least he didn’t let it show.
Shelton starts for the University of Florida
Because some fans in the stands were at least as emotional as the American youngster. Funnily enough, they were spread across all three available sides. At the level of the net opposite the referee, there were two loud Shelton fans, in the small main stand in row one, there was a joyfully excited trio. And right next to Lloyd Harris’ box, there was a verbal lone fighter who didn’t hold back with his preferences for Shelton.
Conditions like in college, you might say. Ben Shelton still has relatively fresh memories of that; until recently he played for the University of Florida. And he certainly got his fair share of crash talk at away games. It wasn’t that bad in the match against Harris – after all, the Shelton fans weren’t against Harris, they were just on their hero’s side.
Will Ben Shelton make another appearance on the 18th? The meeting with Denis Shapovalov on Court 3 is scheduled for today. But who knows: Maybe the forecasted weather will mess things up a bit.
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2024-07-05 09:43:00
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