Despite Obvious Parallels to Rafael Nadal, America’s Ben Shelton Makes Staggering Admission on Billionaire Sponsor Roger Federer

Ben Shelton has been a player to watch out for this season, hasn’t he? The American tennis sensation has had a breakthrough season that has put him among the top players in the world. He started off the season with a bang, reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. Subsequently, a consistent run across the tournaments caused his rise gradually. Last month, he enthralled the local crowd by reaching the semifinals of the US Open. As a result, he caught the attention of the multi-billion dollar brand of Roger Federer. Recently, he made a huge revelation about the Swiss maestro and his rival, Rafael Nadal.

Currently, Ben Shelton is in Austria to participate in the Erste Bank Open. Although Shelton grew up being inspired by both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, he has now found the one who is closest to his heart. Here’s what he said about Federer and Nadal.

Ben Shelton picks Roger Federer over Rafael Nadal

The 21-year-old American, who has been in good form of late, couldn’t continue his winning run as he lost to the second seed, Jannik Sinner in the opening round. In what was a close contest between the two in Vienna, Sinner got the better of Ben Shelton in straight sets 7-6 (2), 7-5. During an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, Shelton picked his favorite player.

Talking about it, Ben Shelton said, “I studied Nadal and tried to steal some secrets from him. But my favorite has always been Roger.” Like Nadal, Shelton is also left-handed and has picked many tricks out of Nadal’s book. However, he still chose Federer as his favorite player over Nadal. But, is there any specific reason behind this choice?

Ben Shelton has had a close association with the Swiss maestro. In March this year, he joined billionaire Federer’s brand, On along with fellow player, Iga Swiatek. Additionally, in the past, he signed with the Swiss legend’s management company, TEAM8.

This is not the first time Ben Shelton has spoken highly about Federer. He once revealed how Federer’s epic match stuck in his mind. Roger Federer seems to have captured the most delicate parts of Shelton’s heart. Perhaps, Shelton learned to play better tennis because of Nadal, but he continued to play more tennis because of Federer. There is a difference.

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Shelton couldn’t get over 2019 Wimbledon final

At the Wimbledon Championships in 2019, Roger Federer was up against Novak Djokovic in the summit clash. However, the Swiss maestro lost a mouth-watering contest in the final set tiebreaker.

Ben Shelton, who didn’t watch tennis on TV regularly during his childhood, revealed how that match was etched in his memory. Talking about it, he said, “The final with Roger at Wimbledon, maybe that was in 2019, but that was probably NOT the first time I watched one of his full matches.” Shelton had been obsessed with Federer for a long time.

Ben Shelton will hope to recover from his early loss in Vienna as he aims to finish the season on a high. He’ll be seen in action next at the Paris Masters later this month. Will Shelton ultimately be able to extract the best qualities from both Nadal and Federer? Comment your thoughts below!

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