Since 2010, there have been only 5 American players who have qualified for the ATP Finals. The 26-year-old, Taylor Fritz was the last American to qualify for the year-end championship in 2022. But this year there has been no American featuring in the prestigious 53-year-old tournament in Turin. Pete Sampras won the tournament in 1999. James Blake was the last one to reach the finals way back in 2006. Who’ll be the next to triumph in the year-end event? Andy Roddick has picked Ben Shelton as a contender at the ATP Finals in 2024.

The 41-year-old American former tennis player picked the 21-year-old rising talent from the ‘city in a forest’ among the Americans in the ATP Top 50. There have been quite a few players who have been performing constantly throughout the season. Here’s why Andy Roddick picked ‘The Mountain’ ahead of others.

Andy Roddick’s take on the promising young talent from Georgia, Ben Shelton

The former number 1, has heaped praise on Shelton after his stellar performance earlier this year. He surely sees the potential in this youngster and he is also quite optimistic about Americans featuring in ATP Finals next year. Let us find out what one of the prominent names in American tennis has to say about America’s rising talent.

Roddick was asked about which American he thinks will reach the ATP Finals in 2024. He said, “Personally if I had to choose one, I think I’d go with Ben Shelton. The guy is currently 17 in the world and has made runs in Slams already and all the way. He’s still figuring out how to play tennis. Like he left the country this year for the first time in his life. Like it’s only going to go up. He’s to gonna break serve a little more or he’s to figure out how to whole serve a little bit more. How to pitch up a little bit of ball game, I love that post-US Open, he was consistent with back-to-back wins for the first time. He found the level of consistency where he wasn’t just sharp at Australia and then kind of took a little bit of time off and now won back-to-back matches, semifinals. His win continued at Tokyo. So, I guess Ben Shelton. But listen, if I choose to pick one, I wish I could pick them all‘

The number 17 in current ATP rankings, didn’t do much in between AO & US Open. Andy Roddick also gave his opinion on this saying Ben Shelton is a one-surface player right now. He hasn’t figured out how to play on clay or grass court yet. Roddick added Shelton doesn’t know much about the movements on either of the surfaces. But he believes he has immense potential and he will get better with time.

The meteoric rise of Ben Shelton

Just 17 months ago. Ben Shelton was a promising college tennis player. Now the 21-year-old has made a breakthrough to the bigger stages of the game. He is now not only making a mere participation but making his name among the best in the game. Shelton reached the QFs of the Australian Open earlier this year and had reached the semis of the US Open as well. Recently he added a feather to his cap by winning the Tokyo Open, the first ATP Tour Title in his career.

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Ben Shelton, is the name that every American tennis fan must have come across at least once in the past few months. His rise in the racket sport has been nothing short of an astonishing journey. Surely, the one to look out for soon. What do you think about this 21YO dynamic youngster’s meteoric rise?

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