Ben Shelton‘s much-awaited return to his hometown is finally on the charts! The American teen sensation is scheduled to mark his attendance at the ongoing 2024 Atlanta Open. This season will witness the final edition of the Georgia event. Luckily for Shelton, his appearance at the hardcourt tournament will be sweeter as he looks to boast his rank as seed No. 1.

Subsequently, the 21-year-old was recently witnessed training for the ATP 250 tournament. Although the event’s faculty doesn’t offer any in-house training facility, they have outsourced practice grounds for players at Georgia Tech. While indulging in a training session at the university’s grounds, Shelton was hellbent on eliciting a reaction from the tennis world. And that sounds reasonable enough, considering he did his pre-tournament session shirtless!

But there are bigger expectations at stake here. Last year, the American professional took the tennis world by storm after producing head-turning results at the US Open. He terminated formidable challenges from the likes of Dominic Thiem, Tommy Paul, and Frances Tiafoe on his way to the last four. At last, the nation held out hope for the young athlete to finally end the USA’s Grand Slam drought. However, his dream run at the Flushing Meadows event was met with an unfortunate conclusion in the semifinal.

Ben Shelton was thrashed by the 24-time Major champion Novak Djokovic. To much amazement, he was sent packing by the Serbian superstar in straight sets. Nevertheless, the World No. 14 didn’t let this disappointing loss impede his progress on the Tour. Since then, the young American has triumphed at the 2023 Japan Open and the 2024 ATP Houston where he downed countryman Tiafoe in the event’s summit clash. Moreover, he has notably improved his grass-court skills by reaching the fourth round of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships.

But can he manage to script a better record in the final edition of the Atlanta Open? A lot of tennis fans have poured in their thoughts after witnessing the 20-year-old practice for his upcoming showdown. Though it is no surprise that he has managed to earn goodwill from fans, let us delve into some of the reactions posted by them.

Ben Shelton sends tennis fans into a frenzy ahead of the 2024 Atlanta Open

Shelton has hyped the tennis community with hopes of a better performance at the season’s Atlanta Open in Georgia. Subsequently, fans have voiced their thoughts after witnessing the teen talent practice shirtless. One passionate supporter commented, “Oh Ben they could never make me hate you.”

Furthermore, some fans were oozing at the sight of Shelton slaying the tennis court with his muscular physique and chiseled abs. They commented “Oh he looks so good rn” and “OKAY BEN” in pure amazement at his recent appearance. Some, however, were seemingly not nearly as impressed watching him practice shirtless and questioned his reasons for the same saying “why is he always shirtless.”

By giving a walkaround from what can be expected of him this season, can Shelton live up to the expectations? Especially considering that he endured an opening-round loss at the hardcourt event last year, he will certainly eye producing better results. What are your thoughts on his chances? Do let us know in the comments.