The upcoming Paris Olympics later this year has resulted in many singles players participating in doubles. The likes of Stefanos Tsitsipas and Taylor Fritz have been seen in action in both these formats. Another such star who is shining across the formats is Ben Shelton, who has played in doubles consistently this season alongside his singles commitments. However, he had a forgettable moment recently at the ongoing Italian Open.

Shelton was seen in action today during his men’s doubles semifinal encounter with his partner, Alexander Bublik. The duo was up against the top seeds, Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos. Despite the latter breaking hardly any sweat in their victory, an interesting moment was captured in the match, which went viral all over the internet.

While Shelton was serving in the ninth game of the first set, Zeballos returned with an overhead lob. Subsequently, the American star approached toward the net to hit a smash. However, the ball bounced off the tape of the net and landed out. Going by Shelton’s standards, it was an easy miss and as a result, drew a wry smile from him. Further, he also signaled everyone to ignore that point by putting his finer on the lip.

Although that miss didn’t prove to be costly for Shelton as he won that game, the pair eventually lost the set 6-4 followed by a similar margin of defeat in the second set to bow out of the tournament. Despite Shelton’s easy miss catching the eyes of the tennis world, he has widely been regarded as a future Grand Slam champion. Recently, a renowned coach made a massive admission on this matter.

Legendary coach Eric Riley speaks highly about Ben Shelton

A few months ago, coach Eric Riley appeared on the Tennis Channel Inside-In podcast. During the conversation there, he analyzed Shelton’s game and his resurgence last year. Riley said, “He’s the best out of the bunch. He’s got the lightest arm. Maybe the lefty Shelton can win the French one year because he’ll mix it up.”

Further, he also added, “He’s got the best one and he’s got a great person in his corner—his dad. Maybe the lefty Shelton can win the French one year because he’ll mix it up. He’s not going to try to play clay court tennis on a clay court. He’s going to play hard court tennis, want to play court and go down all guns blazing.”

Shelton came close to winning a major trophy last year when he reached the semifinals of the US Open. However, in order to achieve the biggest glory in the sport, the American sensation will have to take his game an extra step forward.