French Open: Ben Shelton’s Agony Knows No Bounds as Endless Wait Continues, Owing to Rain Gods

While the tennis action has been bright at the ongoing French Open, the weather in Paris has been in stark contrast to the play here. The clouds have opened up time and again over the past few days and the rain gods have refused to bow down. As a result, the schedule of play has turned into a mess, with several matches on outside courts being postponed to the next days. One player who has massively been affected by the unpredictable weather is Ben Shelton.

Although being one of the players to watch out for in this tournament, Shelton’s journey here has been anything but smooth. His first-round clash against Hugo Gaston was affected by rain and was subsequently postponed. Although the 15th seed managed to win that encounter, it wasn’t without breaking a sweat on the red soil. Similarly, Shelton’s second-round match against Kei Nishikori was also delayed due to incessant rains.

Later today, Shelton will take on Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime in the third round. However, it is currently raining in Paris, which could see Shelton’s match being postponed for a third time at the ongoing French Open. Shelton will play Auger-Aliassime on Court 14, which saw play being interrupted as the clouds opened up. As a result, it is going to be a long wait for Shelton before he steps onto the court. Meanwhile, the American tennis sensation had expressed his displeasure on on-off starts due to rains.

Rain breaks taking a toll on Ben Shelton

During an interview at the tournament, Shelton joined a host of stars to raise his voice against the scheduling mess created by rain breaks. The former NCAA champion explained how it affected his physical state.

Shelton revealed, “It’s not easy. You kind of wish you were one of the top seeds playing on Lenglen or Chatrier and you didn’t have to worry about rain delays or when you’re playing, because things are moving smoothly when you have a roof. Getting the engine started over and over and getting cold and then warm again and then cold — it takes a big toll.”

Shelton will have his task cut out when he faces Auger-Aliassime, who has been in good form lately. It’ll be interesting to see how he can cope with the scheduling mess and the delay that has been caused by untimely rain breaks.