Ben Shelton, who “was on the other end” last year in the Italian Open is “definitely getting tougher” as he pulled off a great victory against Pavel Kotov in the second round. Shelton, who lost to Alexander Bublik on the same tour in 2023 and became a subject of the audience’s trolling, delves further into how he managed to change his fate this time.

America’s rising star of tennis Ben Shelton recently sat with the Tennis Channel’s host Prakash Amritraj to give an exclusive interview about his tennis journey and how his mental perception of tennis changed over time. While being asked about his transition, he said- “I think I am definitely getting tougher. I think it’s something that grows while you play, and the longer you’re on tour dealing with different things, crowds, people you’re playing the things that they bring to the table that make things difficult.”

He further added, “You know, I’ve actually I played Bublik here. Last year and I was on the other end of it, the crowd was booing me and chanting for him, and I was on the opposite end of the boos this year, in this match.”

Here Shelton recalls how he was bullied by the audience when last year he played against Alexander Bublik in the Rome Open’s second round. Not only this American ATP star was defeated by 6-4, 1-6, and 6-2 but the audience at the gallery also booed at him, which significantly impacted his performance during the match. This year, Ben Shelton returned more mature as he not only bagged his entry to the third round but accepted his transition into a steady professional player, who focuses on his skills.

Shelton’s sense of maturity was showcased to the fans when he chose to move away from the controversy that happened in his US Open 2023 semifinals against the Serbian legend Novak Djokovic.

Ben Shelton offers a mature response to Djokovic’s controversial stunt at the US Open 2023

After winning against Shelton in the US Open 2023 semifinals, Djokovic copied the American ATP star’s “dialed-in” pose. While he sarcastically said he simply loved the gesture, critics claimed that Shelton’s inappropriate behavior against the Serb forced the latter to do so. Later Djokovic also said- “It was a reaction against [Shelton]. He did not behave properly, with respect, on court, and before the match.”

However, choosing to refrain from responding to it, Shelton just said- “I don’t really have anything else to say on the whole US Open situation, I feel like I’ve been asked about it constantly in the last four or five months. I feel like I’ve said my peace on the matter. I would rather just let it settle and move forward.”

Being a young-generation tennis player, Shelton’s comment expressed his respect for the world’s number-one ATP player. He wished to focus on his Australia Open tour this year instead of pondering the situation- “We’re in Australia now, and we’re at the Australian Open and not the US Open anymore, everyone can have their opinion on who I am or how I act. But, yeah, I don’t know. I don’t have an answer to your question.”

Ben Shelton’s recent comment after winning entry to the Italian Open tour’s third-round showcase that he has developed his mental strength. Instead of letting external matters affect him, Sheklton has learned to use such trolling or negative criticism to make his game more complicated for the opponent.